Comparison

Speed Reading vs Strobe

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Speed Reading

Enhance your reading speed and focus with a word-by-word presentation method. This app helps you process text faster by keeping your eyes stationary and highlighting words. It supports various file formats and offers customization options for a personalized reading experience.

Highlights
  • Word-by-word reading at adjustable speeds
  • RSVP method for improved focus
  • Supports PDF, ePub, DOCX, and more
  • On-device text recognition for scanned PDFs
  • Customizable highlight colors and fonts
  • iCloud sync across devices
Features
Read full description

Paste an article, open a PDF or send a page from Safari, and SpeedyReader plays it back one word at a time, anywhere from 100 to 1,200 words a minute. Your eyes stay put, so you stop re-reading lines. Most people read about 250 words a minute. At 500, a 5,000-word article takes 10 minutes instead of 20, and a 300-page book takes about 2½ hours instead of 5. You see your speed after every read, and Metrics keeps your streak, your personal records and a running total of the time you've saved. The method is RSVP, rapid serial visual presentation. In normal reading your eyes jump from point to point and drift back over lines you've already read. Here every word lands in the same place, lined up on its optimal recognition point: the letter your eye locks onto first, shown in color. Import PDF, ePub, DOCX, ODT, RTF, TXT, Markdown, HTML and CSV files. Share links from Safari, News, X, Mail or Messages, or paste anything you've copied. Scanned and image-only PDFs go through on-device text recognition, and on devices with Apple Intelligence, Magic Wand repairs the broken lines and hyphenation a scan leaves behind. Books and long PDFs open with a chapter list, so you can go straight to the section you need. Warm-Up starts you slower and ramps up to your target speed. SmartFlow adds a short pause at the end of each sentence. Choose from six highlight colors and four fonts, and pinch to resize the word. Your library and reading history sync through iCloud across iPhone, iPad and Mac. On Mac, Space and the arrow keys control playback, and Keep Window on Top holds the reader over whatever you're working in. There's no account to create. What you read stays on your devices and in your own iCloud. Terms: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://mahanticorp.vercel.app/speedreader/privacy-policy

About

Strobe

This app enhances reading speed and focus with a clean interface for PDFs and EPUBs. It offers customizable reading speeds, font choices, and smooth navigation to reduce eye fatigue and improve comprehension.

Highlights
  • RSVP reading interface
  • PDF and EPUB import
  • Adjustable reading speed (100-1000 WPM)
  • Customizable text size and fonts
  • Hold-to-read interaction
  • Automatic progress saving
  • Chapter navigation
Features
Read full description

Speed read your own books and documents, one word at a time. No ads, no subscription, no account. Strobe is a speed reading app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It uses Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP): each word appears in the same spot on screen, so your eyes stay still instead of scanning across lines. Import a PDF, EPUB, plain-text, or Markdown file, share an article from Safari, or paste text, then read at 100 to 1,000 words per minute. HOLD TO READ • Press and hold to read. Let go to pause. • Slide up or down while you read to change speed without losing your place. • Swipe sideways while paused to step word by word. • Prefer hands-free? Tap with two fingers, or switch to tap to play. TIMING THAT FOLLOWS THE TEXT • Smart Timing keeps longer words on screen a little longer. • Punctuation Pauses slow down at sentence ends, commas, dashes, ellipses, and closing quotes, and you set the length of each. • Complexity Timing speeds up common words and slows down rare ones. • Acronyms and hyphenated words get extra time automatically. • Blank After Sentences adds an optional moment of empty screen between sentences. A FIXED POINT FOR YOUR EYES • Each word lines up on a red focus letter, its Optimal Recognition Point (ORP). • Show the previous and next words faintly on either side. • An open quote or parenthesis stays faintly above the word until it closes. YOUR LIBRARY • Every document gets a cover, and Continue Reading takes you back to your exact word. • iCloud sync keeps your library and your place in step across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. • Share an article from Safari, or a link or text from another app, and read it without the page's menus and ads. • Ask Siri to continue reading, or keep your current book on your Home Screen, Lock Screen, or Mac desktop with the Continue Reading widget. • EPUB tables of contents and PDF bookmarks become chapters, each with its reading time at your speed. • Open the full text with your place highlighted, search for any word or phrase, and tap a word to resume from there. • Page numbers, running headers, and footers are removed on import. • Chinese, Japanese, and Korean text is split into words, and Arabic keeps its connected letterforms. MAKE IT YOURS • Seven fonts, adjustable text size, four text colors, and seven highlight colors. • A true black background for OLED screens and reading in the dark. • Every document remembers its own speed. • Keyboard shortcuts on Mac and iPad: Space to read, arrow keys to step, ⌘N for new text, ⌘O to import. • Works with VoiceOver, Larger Text, and Reduced Motion. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your documents are processed on your device and synced only through your own iCloud. Strobe needs no account and has no ads, analytics, or tracking. FREE AND OPEN SOURCE Strobe is free, with no subscription or in-app purchases. The source code is public on GitHub under the Apache 2.0 license. Strobe can't import DRM-protected EPUBs or password-protected PDFs.

Screenshots

Speed Reading4 screens
Strobe4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Strobe at none against Speed Reading's 3. Strobe also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). Speed Reading's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs weekly). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Speed Reading sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Strobe asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Speed Reading against 4.9 for Strobe. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 8 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Speed Reading ships an update every 3 days, Strobe weekly. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Speed Reading versus Strobe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpeed ReadingStrobe
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better4.9 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings48 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB27 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperMahanti CorporationJaafar Abdeen

Customer experience

Speed Reading

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Strobe

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Speed Reading

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Weekly$4.997 Days
  • Yearly3 Days trial$19.991 Year
None

Strobe

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Speed Reading free?
Speed Reading is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Strobe free?
Strobe is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Speed Reading or Strobe?
Speed Reading is rated higher. Speed Reading averages 5.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Strobe averages 4.9 from 8 ratings.
Do Speed Reading or Strobe have ads?
Neither Speed Reading nor Strobe shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Speed Reading or Strobe?
Speed Reading ships an update every 3 days, and Strobe weekly. Most recently, Speed Reading was updated on October 31, 2026 and Strobe on October 31, 2026.

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