Comparison

leaf vs Paper Quest

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 scrolling and page-turning options. Access thousands of free ebooks or import your own EPUB and PDF files. Organize your library, take notes, and create a personal reading journal.

Highlights
  • Vertical and horizontal scrolling
  • Import EPUB and PDF files
  • Access Project Gutenberg and Standard Ebooks
  • Bookmarks, highlights, and notes
  • Exportable Reading Journal
  • Library organization with shelves
  • iCloud syncing
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

Paper Quest

Features
Read full description

Paper Quest is a private, local-first reader for DRM-free EPUB books, unlocked PDFs, and CBZ and CBR comics. READ YOUR WAY • Import EPUB, PDF, CBZ, and CBR files directly from Files • Enjoy distraction-free reading with themes, type controls, margins, and scrolling or paginated layouts • Turn pages with smooth animated transitions and return to your saved position • Browse chapters and search inside EPUB books • Read comfortably with adaptive layouts, including iPhone Duo COMICS THAT LOOK RIGHT TO YOU • Keep the original artwork or choose Auto Enhance, Brighter, or Crisp Black & White • Adjust comic brightness and contrast and choose a white or black page surround • Save display preferences per comic without altering the original file BUILD A SHELF THAT FITS • Create series for books and comic volumes • Use the first volume’s cover or choose a custom series image • Browse your shelf and series in list view or 2-, 3-, and 4-column grids • Sort by title, author, progress, recently added, or metadata release date • Drag series volumes into your preferred order and save • Edit local metadata, replace covers, rate books, and mark favorites MAKE PROGRESS FEEL GOOD • Set a daily reading goal, build streaks, and earn achievements • Track active reading time • Unlock weekly, monthly, yearly, and all-time statistics with one lifetime purchase • See your reading rhythm, favorite genres, most-read books, and Top Books KEEP THE DETAILS THAT MATTER • Add bookmarks, highlights, and notes • Track reading status and resume from your saved position • Keep today’s goal, streak, and current book visible with Home Screen widgets OPTIONAL ICLOUD SYNC Enable sync in Settings to keep your books, comics, covers, series, progress, notes, reading history, statistics, goals, and preferences up to date across devices using the same Apple Account. Sync uses your private iCloud storage. You can also keep reading entirely locally without enabling sync. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your library and reading data stay on your device by default. Paper Quest has no separate account, advertising SDK, or analytics tracker. If you enable iCloud sync, Apple’s iCloud service stores your synced data in your private account. BACKUP WHEN YOU CHOOSE Export a complete backup containing your publication files and reading data, then restore it with duplicate-safe merging. Paper Quest supports DRM-free EPUB, unlocked PDF, and unprotected CBZ/CBR files. It does not include a bookstore or downloadable catalog. Lifetime Stats is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. Optional tips are separate and unlock no features.

Screenshots

leaf4 screens
Paper Quest4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: leaf at every 9 days against Paper Quest's every 4 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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 Paper Quest sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

leaf ships an update every 9 days, Paper Quest every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
leaf versus Paper Quest: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterleafPaper Quest
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (6 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size85 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAbraham JesriJorge Costa

In-app purchases

2 purchases

leaf

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

Paper Quest

One-time4
  • A little bookmark$1.99
  • A fresh chapter$3.99
  • Lifetime Stats$5.99
Show 1 more
  • A grand adventure$8.99

Questions

Is leaf free?
leaf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Paper Quest free?
Paper Quest is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do leaf or Paper Quest have ads?
Neither leaf nor Paper Quest shows ads.
Which is updated more often, leaf or Paper Quest?
leaf ships an update every 9 days, and Paper Quest every 4 weeks. Most recently, leaf was updated on October 31, 2026 and Paper Quest on October 29, 2026.

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