Comparison

Novel Reader & Bookmate vs Paper Mode

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

Head to head
About

Novel Reader & Bookmate

Features
Read full description

Lore is a quiet EPUB reader that remembers the book for you. Open any book and you always know who's who and what just happened, and never a page further than you've read. WHY LORE Long novels lose people. Forty characters, three names each, two weeks between sittings, and suddenly you are back in chapter nine working out who betrayed whom. Lore keeps that thread for you, without ever getting ahead of you. A SHELF THAT ISN'T EMPTY Lore opens on The Archives: a curated collection of classics you can search by title or author and download without leaving the app. Already have books? Import your own DRM-free EPUB files and they land on the same shelf. THE READING PART, DONE PROPERLY Four themes: Light, Sepia, Dark and an OLED black for reading at night. Four typefaces: serif, sans, mono and cursive. Set font size, line spacing and margins until the page looks right. Automatic hyphenation breaks long words at the syllable, so lines stay even. Portrait or landscape. Page numbers are measured for your type settings, so the count holds still. See the pages left in the chapter, jump straight to a page, or move around from the chapter list. Lore reads EPUB, and it does that one format well: no PDF, no MOBI, no AZW. WHEN YOU LOSE THE THREAD - A character guide: who someone is, what else they are called, and how they are tied to everyone else. - Chapter recaps: the key events and turning points of the stretch you just finished. - Ask a question about the story so far and get an answer from the book. - Talk to a character from the book, one to one. - Illustrated scenes and portraits, collected per book. NOTHING PAST THE PAGE YOU'RE ON All of that is locked to the page you have actually reached. Not a promise, a limit written into the app. Pick a 900-page novel back up after three weeks away, get your bearings, and still not know how it ends. HOW THE GUIDES ARE BUILT Character profiles, recaps and answers are built from the book's own text, using AI that is only ever given the pages you have already read. MADE FOR - Russian novels where everyone has three different names - Doorstop fantasy with a cast list longer than chapter one - Coming back to a book three weeks later LANGUAGES AND ACCOUNT English, Turkish, Spanish, German and French. A free Google or Apple account is required. Your analyses and your spark balance are tied to your account; your library and your reading position stay on your device. You can delete your account in the app at any time. SPARKS AND PREMIUM Reading is free. Importing your own EPUB and downloading from The Archives are free. Sparks are spent when you analyse a book, ask a question, chat with a character or create an illustration. Once a book is analysed, its character guide and chapter recaps are yours to browse as often as you like, at no further cost. Lore Premium is an auto-renewing subscription, sold in three plans: Weekly at $9.99 a week for 1,000 sparks each week, Monthly at $14.99 a month for 2,000 sparks each month, and Yearly at $149.99 a year for 2,000 sparks each month. Prices are in U.S. dollars and vary by region. Each refill sets your balance to the plan amount, so unused sparks do not carry over. Promo codes are accepted. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. A subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is switched off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in your Apple ID settings. Terms of Use: https://zarathustra.app/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://zarathustra.app/privacy.html Zarathustra is now Lore. Same books, same page you left off on.

About

Paper Mode

Transform your device into a comfortable, paper-like reading experience. This app reduces eye strain with an E-Ink style mode, customizable themes, and a distraction-free interface. Enjoy novels, textbooks, and more with features like automatic progress saving and offline reading.

Highlights
  • E-Ink style reading mode
  • Customizable themes and colors
  • Automatic reading progress saving
  • Offline reading support
  • Distraction-free interface
  • Adjustable font and spacing
  • Support for PDF, EPUB, TXT
Features
Read full description

Transform your phone into a paper-like reading experience. Paper Mode is designed for people who love reading but dislike reading on bright digital screens. Instead of staring at harsh white pages and glowing displays, Paper Mode creates a calm, cozy reading environment inspired by the comfort of physical books. Switch instantly between a normal digital reader and an E-Ink style reading mode. Customize everything to match your reading preferences and enjoy long reading sessions with less visual fatigue. Whether you are reading novels, textbooks, research papers, manuals, or study materials, Paper Mode helps you focus on reading, not the screen. WHY PAPER MODE? - Transform your phone into a paper-like reading experience - E-Ink style display mode for comfortable reading - Switch instantly between Normal Mode and Paper Mode - Designed to help reduce eye strain during long reading sessions - Cozy paper-inspired themes - Clean and distraction-free interface - Fully customizable reading experience SUPPORTED FORMATS - PDF - EPUB - TXT More formats are coming soon. READING FEATURES - Continue exactly where you stopped - Automatic reading progress saving - Unlimited bookmarks - Fast document search - Table of contents navigation - Reading progress tracking - Offline reading - Beautiful digital bookshelf - Multiple reading themes ACCESSIBILITY - Dyslexia-friendly reading font support - Adjustable font size - Adjustable line spacing - Adjustable margins - Brightness control - Contrast adjustment - Warm paper color adjustment - Landscape and portrait support CUSTOMIZE EVERYTHING Choose how you want to read. - Normal reading mode - Paper Mode - E-Ink style mode - Dark mode - Sepia mode - Custom paper colors - Custom text colors - Reading animations - Screen orientation lock DESIGNED FOR READERS Paper Mode is not another document viewer. It is built for people who want reading on a phone or tablet to feel calm, natural, cozy, and enjoyable. Future updates will include cloud sync, highlights, notes, AI reading tools, reading statistics, and even more customization.

Screenshots

Novel Reader & Bookmate4 screens
Paper Mode4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Paper Mode at none against Novel Reader & Bookmate's 3. Novel Reader & Bookmate's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (daily vs monthly). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. Novel Reader & Bookmate sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per 7 days. Paper Mode asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Novel Reader & Bookmate ships an update daily, Paper Mode monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Novel Reader & Bookmate versus Paper Mode: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNovel Reader & BookmatePaper Mode
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyDaily — betterMonthly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Ad-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size90 MB30 MB
Age rating12+4+
Developerhalit aldemirManoj Shrestha

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Novel Reader & Bookmate

Subscriptions3
  • Zarathustra Pro Weekly$9.997 Days
  • Zarathustra Pro Monthly$24.991 Month
  • Zarathustra Pro Annual$249.991 Year
None

Paper Mode

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Novel Reader & Bookmate free?
Novel Reader & Bookmate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Paper Mode free?
Paper Mode is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Novel Reader & Bookmate or Paper Mode have ads?
Paper Mode shows ads; Novel Reader & Bookmate does not.
Which is updated more often, Novel Reader & Bookmate or Paper Mode?
Novel Reader & Bookmate ships an update daily, and Paper Mode monthly. Most recently, Novel Reader & Bookmate was updated on October 31, 2026 and Paper Mode on November 6, 2026.

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