Comparison

LoudReader vs MagicReader

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

MagicReader

Features
Read full description

Read without touching the screen. MagicReader is a hands-free reader for EPUB, PDF and comics: turn your head, wave a hand, wink, or just say "next page" — and the page turns. Or sit back and let a natural voice read to you. Whether your hands are busy, wet, full, or simply resting — or touching the screen is difficult for you — MagicReader keeps the story going. NEW: OPENS LIKE A REAL BOOK • Ready for iPhone Duo — unfold it and your book becomes a two-page spread, with the spine right on the fold • Landscape reading — two pages side by side on iPad and most iPhones, for EPUB, PDF and comics, including vertical Japanese books • Flip page turns — pages turn over like paper and follow your finger • Split View on iPad and iPhone Duo TOUCH-FREE READING • Head control — turn your head left or right to flip pages; look up to open or close a book • Wink control — wink your right eye to go forward, your left to go back (Face ID devices) • Hand control — a cursor follows your hand; close your hand to grab a book, swipe from the screen edge to flip • Voice control — say "next", "back", "open", "read aloud" and more, in English, Japanese, Spanish, French or German • A guided tour teaches every gesture with live practice NATURAL READ-ALOUD • Natural, expressive voices read your EPUB books aloud — in English and Japanese • The sentence being spoken is highlighted, and pages turn in step with the narration • English narration powered by Kokoro; Japanese voices powered by VOICEVOX (VOICEVOX:No.7, VOICEVOX:四国めたん, VOICEVOX:青山龍星, VOICEVOX Nemo) • Books in Spanish, French and German are read by your device's system voice for that language, with nothing to download • Natural voices are downloaded once, then work fully offline — all speech is generated on your device YOUR LIBRARY, YOUR WAY • EPUB and PDF books, plus CBZ/CBR comics and manga • Beautiful animated bookshelf themes — drifting watercolour clouds, a starry cosmos, and story worlds that come alive behind special books • Japanese vertical text (縦書き) done right, with optional automatic furigana (ふりがな) above kanji • Comfortable reading themes, adjustable fonts (including OpenDyslexic for dyslexia-friendly reading), and remembered positions THOUSANDS OF FREE CLASSICS • Browse and download public-domain classics from Project Gutenberg and Aozora Bunko (青空文庫) — from Alice in Wonderland to 銀河鉄道の夜 — right inside the app PRIVATE BY DESIGN • The camera and microphone are used only to recognize your gestures and commands, entirely on your device • Nothing is recorded, nothing is uploaded, and there are no accounts, no ads, and no tracking — ever MagicReader began in 2012 as one of the first face-controlled book readers on the App Store. It has been rebuilt from the ground up for today's devices — same magic, new tricks. Reading is best when nothing comes between you and the story. Not even your hands.

Screenshots

LoudReader4 screens
MagicReader2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: MagicReader at none against LoudReader's 3. LoudReader's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs monthly). On price, 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

Both are free to download. LoudReader sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. MagicReader asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LoudReader ships an update weekly, MagicReader monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
LoudReader versus MagicReader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLoudReaderMagicReader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1.2 GB62 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJeremi PodlasekLeo Rivas-Micoud

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

MagicReader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is LoudReader free?
LoudReader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MagicReader free?
MagicReader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do LoudReader or MagicReader have ads?
Neither LoudReader nor MagicReader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LoudReader or MagicReader?
LoudReader ships an update weekly, and MagicReader monthly. Most recently, LoudReader was updated on October 15, 2026 and MagicReader on October 11, 2026.

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