Comparison

LoudReader vs KO Reader

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

Head to head
About

LoudReader

Convert any ebook, PDF, or web article into an audiobook using natural AI voices. Enjoy unlimited, private, and offline listening with word-by-word highlighting. Offers premium features like adjustable speed and a sleep timer via subscription.

Highlights
  • Convert ebooks, PDFs, web articles to audio
  • Natural AI voices
  • 100% offline and private
  • Word-by-word highlighting
  • Import own files
  • Background playback
Features
Read full description

Turn any ebook, PDF, or web article into an audiobook with LoudReader — the text-to-speech (TTS) voice reader that reads your books aloud in natural AI voices. 100% offline, completely private, and free to listen with no limits. FREE FOREVER — NO LIMITS, NO QUOTAS Listen to as many books as you want, cover to cover, at no cost. No account, no sign-up, no data collection. Every premium voice is free to try for your first 8 hours of listening. LISTEN TO ANY BOOK, ANYWHERE • Download 70,000+ free classics from Project Gutenberg • Import your own EPUB and PDF files • Save and listen to any web article • A bundled collection of beautifully formatted public-domain classics to get you started LoudReader instantly converts them into an immersive audiobook with high-quality, human-sounding narration. FOLLOW ALONG AS YOU LISTEN Word-by-word highlighting keeps you engaged and improves comprehension — see exactly where you are as the narration flows. A great companion for language learners, students, and readers with dyslexia or ADHD. MAKE IT YOURS • Natural AI voices, male and female • Night mode for comfortable reading after dark • Jump to any chapter instantly • Background playback with the screen locked Premium adds adjustable speed (0.3×–3.0×), a sleep timer, ambient soundscapes, and notes & highlights. 100% OFFLINE & PRIVATE BY DESIGN All speech synthesis happens entirely on your device. Your books and reading habits never leave your phone — no cloud, no servers, no tracking. Once a book is on your device it plays with zero connectivity, perfect for flights, the subway, or anywhere off the grid. SUPPORTED FORMATS • EPUB (DRM-free) • PDF (with text extraction) • Web articles (via the Share Extension) SUBSCRIPTION LoudReader is free to use with unlimited listening, forever. Upgrade to Premium to keep every AI voice and add adjustable speed, a sleep timer, ambient soundscapes, and notes & highlights. • Monthly: $7.99 • Annual: $49.99 • Lifetime: $199.99 (one-time) 1-month free trial for eligible new subscribers. Payment is charged to your Apple ID; a subscription automatically renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. Lifetime is a one-time purchase and does not renew. Whether you're commuting, exercising, or relaxing at home, LoudReader turns reading time into listening time. Privacy Policy: https://loudreader.io/privacy Terms of Use: https://loudreader.io/terms

About

KO Reader

This app transforms web articles, ebooks, and PDFs into natural-sounding speech using on-device AI. Enjoy private, offline listening with customizable voices and playback speeds. Export audio for later or read anywhere without an internet connection.

Highlights
  • On-device text-to-speech
  • Supports web articles, EPUB, PDF, and plain text
  • 53 neural voices in 9 languages
  • Customizable playback speed
  • Audio export to m4a/m4b
  • Offline functionality
  • Privacy-focused, no tracking
Currently charting
Read full description

KO Reader turns web articles, ebooks, and PDFs into natural-sounding speech — entirely on your device. No cloud, no tracking, no subscriptions. Paste a URL or open an EPUB or PDF, and KO Reader reads it aloud with a neural AI voice. Everything runs locally, so your reading stays private and works anywhere — on the train, on a plane, or off-grid. Export your favorite articles or books to m4a or m4b files. WHAT YOU CAN READ • Web articles — Wikipedia, news sites, blogs, and Substack • Fanfiction — Archive of Our Own, Royal Road, and Wattpad, with chapter detection • EPUB ebooks with full chapter navigation • PDF documents • Plain text — paste or type any content • Safari Share Extension — send articles to KO Reader with one tap NATURAL AI VOICES • 53 neural voices across 9 languages: American and British English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Mandarin, and Hindi • Preview any voice before selecting it • Mark favorites for quick access • Playback speed from 0.5x to 2.0x • Smart heteronym resolution — the voice knows the difference between "lead" (the metal) and "lead" (to guide), "wound" (injury) and "wound" (past of wind) • Custom pronunciation dictionary — teach the reader how to say names, jargon, or anything you like READ YOUR WAY • Reading queue — line up multiple articles and auto-advance • Bookmarks — save passages to come back to • Reading history — pick up where you left off, across books and articles • Chapter pre-generation — book chapters start instantly, no waiting between them • Audio export — save generated audio for offline listening • Adjustable article font (system, serif, monospaced, rounded) and Dynamic Type support BUILT FOR ACCESSIBILITY • Full VoiceOver support with labeled controls throughout • Haptic feedback on transport controls and sleep timer • Background audio — listen while you use other apps or with the screen off • Sleep timer — stops playback when you drift off • Works with AirPods, Bluetooth speakers, and CarPlay RUNS EVERYWHERE • Universal app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac • macOS keyboard shortcuts (Space to play/pause, Cmd+← and Cmd+→ to skip) • Optimized for Apple Silicon with optional CoreML acceleration • Adjustable CPU thread count for performance tuning PRIVACY FIRST • 100% on-device TTS — your content never leaves your phone • No accounts, no analytics, no tracking, no ads • No internet required after the one-time model download • Reading progress stored locally only KO Reader downloads a ~350 MB neural voice model on first launch. After that, everything works fully offline. Powered by the open-source Kokoro TTS model (Apache 2.0).

Screenshots

LoudReader4 screens
KO Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: LoudReader at Free against KO Reader's $3.99. KO Reader's advantage is rating (3.7 vs 2.5) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). On ratings volume, ads, 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

LoudReader is free to download; KO Reader costs $3.99 up front. LoudReader sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. KO Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

KO Reader holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 2.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of LoudReader's written reviews are positive against 67% of KO Reader's.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
LoudReader versus KO Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLoudReaderKO Reader
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating2.5 (4 ratings)3.7 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews66.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#88 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size1.2 GB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJeremi PodlasekJames Carrell II

Customer experience

LoudReader

All ratings4 ratings
Positive25.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

KO Reader

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

LoudReader

Subscriptions2
  • LoudReader Monthly Premium$7.991 Month
  • LoudReader Annual Premium1 Month trial$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$199.99
None

KO Reader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is LoudReader free?
LoudReader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is KO Reader free?
KO Reader costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, LoudReader or KO Reader?
KO Reader is rated higher. LoudReader averages 2.5 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while KO Reader averages 3.7 from 3 ratings.
Do LoudReader or KO Reader have ads?
Neither LoudReader nor KO Reader shows ads.

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