# Novel vs Dear Reader

The clearest difference is ads: Novel at none against Dear Reader's shown. On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Novel ships an update every 10 days, Dear Reader every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on June 12, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Novel | Dear Reader |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/novel-ai-reader/id6758115014/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **1** | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | **Every 9 days** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 2 MB | 51 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **17.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Tadashi Kumazawa](https://appshunter.io/developer/1871003924) | [Moonsun Yang](https://appshunter.io/developer/6779434903) |

## What reviewers say

### Novel

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/novel-ai-reader/id6758115014)

Enhance your reading comprehension with AI-powered explanations, summaries, and context. Highlight text to instantly get answers and understand complex material more easily. Features include a built-in dictionary and text-to-speech functionality.

**Highlights:** AI-powered explanations, Text summarization, Highlight and ask questions, Built-in dictionary, Text-to-speech, Focused reading experience

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Dear Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dear-reader-reading-journal/id6779434901)

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Novel free?

Novel is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Dear Reader free?

Dear Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Novel or Dear Reader have ads?

Dear Reader shows ads; Novel does not.

### Which is updated more often, Novel or Dear Reader?

Novel ships an update every 10 days, and Dear Reader every 9 days. Most recently, Novel was updated on June 12, 2026 and Dear Reader on September 15, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*