Comparison

leaf vs Ink&Echo

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

Head to head
About

leaf

This app offers a natural reading experience with customizable scroll options and an integrated read-aloud feature. Access a vast library of free classics or import your own documents. Enjoy a distraction-free environment with no ads or intrusive elements.

Highlights
  • Natural vertical scroll and page curl
  • Read-aloud narration with line highlighting
  • Access to 70,000+ free classic books
  • Import EPUB, PDF, and Markdown files
  • Customizable themes, fonts, and spacing
  • Organized library with shelves and filters
  • Ad-free and distraction-free reading experience
Features
Read full description

Scroll naturally. Read deeply. leaf is a reading app built for your phone. Read on your own, or let leaf read to you. Read with a natural vertical scroll, or turn pages with a page curl when you want a more traditional feel. leaf flows through your book the way your thumb already moves. When your attention keeps sliding off the page, tap play. leaf sets a gentle pace and lights up each line as you go. Turn on the voice and it reads the page aloud while you follow along, or lock your phone and keep listening. Narration uses the voices built into your iPhone, so it's free and unlimited, works offline, and your books never leave your phone. Browse and download over 70,000 free books from Project Gutenberg and Standard Ebooks: classic literature, philosophy, fiction, and more. Import your own EPUB, PDF, and Markdown files too. No reading streaks. No goals. No ads. No noise. Just you and the book. READ ALONG AND NARRATION - Tap play and leaf sets the pace, lighting each line as you read - Turn on the voice and leaf reads the page aloud as the highlight follows - Free and unlimited: no hours to count, no account to make - Runs on your iPhone, works offline, and never uploads your books - Keeps reading with the screen locked. Pause, play, or skip back 15 seconds from the lock screen or your headphones - Picks a voice in your book's language. Apple's Enhanced and Premium voices are a free download and sound the most natural - Change the speed any time, pause with a tap, or step back a sentence - Works with every reading flow - Also works for PDFs READER - Three reading flows: Page Curl, Slide, or Continuous scroll - Vertical or horizontal page turns - Light, Dark, System, and E-Ink themes - Bookmarks, highlights, and notes - Multi-paragraph highlighting and sharing - Search within any book - Typefaces including Classic, Modern, Lexend, and Atkinson Hyperlegible - Adjust font size, spacing, and text density - Set a reading intention for each book - An exportable Reading Journal is created automatically when you highlight text or write a note PDFs - Read PDFs with the same reading flows as books - Pages follow your theme automatically, in light or dark - Columns are detected and shown one at a time, so the text is bigger and you never scroll sideways to read a line LIBRARY - Organise books into shelves, grouped into sections you can collapse - Filter by shelf, intention, or reading status - Sort by title, author, last opened, or shelf - View books as Grid or List - Search your entire library - Drop supported book files into the leaf folder and they'll appear in your library automatically - Use iCloud to share books between devices - Continue reading from your current book with the Home Screen widget FREE BOOKS - Browse and download from Project Gutenberg and Standard Ebooks - Over 70,000 free classic and public domain titles - The Call of the Wild is included, so you can start reading straight away - Import your own EPUB, PDF, and Markdown files - Supports multiple file and folder import LEAF PRO - Six more themes: Sepia, Ivory, Mist, Forest, Midnight, and Amber Night - Design up to six custom themes of your own - Three more typefaces (Literata, Spectral, and Merriweather) or import your own - Line, paragraph, and letter spacing - Sync your library across devices - Sync reading progress, highlights, notes, bookmarks, shelves, and Reading Journal entries Privacy Policy: https://readleaf.co/legal Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Ink&Echo

Manage your personal ebook and audiobook collection in a single, organized library. Read various file types and play audiobooks locally, with progress syncing across your devices. Customize your library with metadata editing and sorting options.

Highlights
  • Unified library for ebooks and audiobooks
  • Local import for personal media
  • Read text, PDF, and EPUB files
  • Play imported audiobook files locally
  • Organize with filters, folders, and sorting
  • Edit metadata and replace covers
  • Synced reading and listening progress
Features
Read full description

Import your own books, organize them in one place, and move naturally between reading and listening. Ink & Echo includes a polished dark editorial interface, local import flows, provider-driven search, local playback for imported audio, and in-app reading for text, PDF, and EPUB files. It also supports metadata editing, cover replacement, library filters, folders, sorting, and saved progress across your experience. Key features: • Unified library for ebooks and audiobooks • Local import for personal media • Read text, PDF, and EPUB files in-app • Play imported audiobook files locally • Search across enabled providers • Organize with filters, folders, sorting, and view modes • Edit metadata and replace covers • Keep reading and listening progress synced in one place

Screenshots

leaf4 screens
Ink&Echo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Ink&Echo at 100% against leaf's 33%. Ink&Echo also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.4) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. leaf sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Ink&Echo sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ink&Echo holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 18 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of leaf's written reviews are positive against 100% of Ink&Echo's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
leaf versus Ink&Echo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterleafInk&Echo
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.4 (7 ratings)4.8 (18 ratings) — better
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings718 — better
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size85 MB29 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAbraham JesriGary Zhuo

Customer experience

leaf

All ratings7 ratings
Positive57.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative42.9%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%

Ink&Echo

All ratings18 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

leaf

Subscriptions2
  • Leaf Pro7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Leaf Pro7 Days trial$12.991 Year
1 purchases

Ink&Echo

One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium Unlock$10.00

Questions

Is leaf free?
leaf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ink&Echo free?
Ink&Echo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, leaf or Ink&Echo?
Ink&Echo is rated higher. leaf averages 3.4 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Ink&Echo averages 4.8 from 18 ratings.
Do leaf or Ink&Echo have ads?
Neither leaf nor Ink&Echo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, leaf or Ink&Echo?
leaf ships an update weekly, and Ink&Echo weekly. Most recently, leaf was updated on November 5, 2026 and Ink&Echo on October 31, 2026.

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