Comparison

Folio vs Vesper

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

Head to head
About

Folio

Features
Read full description

Meet Ollie, your reading companion โ€” and discover 75,000+ free books inside the most beautiful reading app on iOS. Folio makes reading feel like holding a real book. Warm cream pages, elegant serif fonts, realistic page turns, and a cozy reading experience designed for people who love books โ€” not just screens. FREE BOOKS, BUILT RIGHT IN Browse 75,000+ public domain classics from Project Gutenberg and Standard Ebooks. Frankenstein, Pride and Prejudice, Moby Dick, Romeo and Juliet โ€” all free, all beautifully formatted, all yours to keep. - Browse by genre: Fiction, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Romance, Philosophy, History, and more - One-tap download to your personal library - New books added regularly - No subscriptions. No hidden fees. Just great books. READING THAT FEELS REAL Every detail is designed to bring back the joy of physical books: - Warm cream, parchment, night, and midnight themes - Choose your font: Lora, Merriweather, Georgia, Literata, and more - Realistic page curl, smooth slide, or gentle fade transitions - Adjustable font size, spacing, and margins - Import your own EPUB and PDF files HIGHLIGHTS & NOTES YOU'LL ACTUALLY USE Never lose a great passage again: - Color-coded highlights (2 free, 7 with Premium) - Add notes to any highlight - Notes Hub: browse all highlights across all books in one place - Export to Notion, Obsidian, Apple Notes, or Markdown (Premium) SAVE ARTICLES FOR LATER Read web articles in Folio's beautiful reading view: - Save from Safari with the Share Sheet - Articles stripped clean โ€” no ads, no clutter - Read offline, highlight, and take notes just like books MEET OLLIE Ollie the owl is your friendly reading companion. He'll help you find your next book, celebrate your milestones, and keep your reading life organized โ€” without ever guilt-tripping you. FOLIO PREMIUM โ€” $4.99, ONE TIME Unlock everything with a single purchase. No subscription. No recurring charges. - All 7 highlight colors - Smart highlight collections and tags - Export notes - Custom reading themes - Shelf view (wooden bookshelf) - Advanced reading stats and annual report - Custom OPDS catalog support - Unlimited Read It Later articles Download Folio free. Read beautifully. Keep your ideas forever.

About

Vesper

Features
Read full description

A calm, focused place to read your own EPUB and PDF books and keep a private journal of everything you read. Load your library, open a book, and the reader gets out of the way. Tap once to hide every chrome element so it's just you and the page. Highlights you save show up in a Quote of the Day widget on your Home Screen, so the lines that mattered come back to find you later. A reading buddy lives inside the book. Tap the chat button on any page and ask about what you're looking at โ€” a phrase, a character, the historical moment, your own half-formed thought. A short answer appears beside the page. Useful for catching a reference, asking a question, working through a passage out loud, or when a scene just wants to be talked about. The journal half of the app tracks what you're reading, what you've finished, and what's still waiting. Build custom views with filters and sorts โ€” Currently Reading, Finished This Year, By Genre, by anything you care about. Tag books with genres and subgenres, add notes, set reading status. It's a bookshelf you actually use. Features: โ€ข Read EPUB and PDF files from your library, iCloud Drive, Files, or anywhere on your device โ€ข Ask AI about the page you're on, without leaving the book โ€ข Save highlights and revisit them via the Home Screen widget โ€ข Track reading status, finish dates, genres, and notes per book โ€ข Build custom filtered views of your library โ€ข Multiple typefaces, adjustable size, and full theme control โ€ข Automatic Day/Night theme that follows local sunset โ€ข Private iCloud sync across iPhone and iPad โ€” your data, your account โ€ข Designed for both phone and iPad Bring your own EPUBs and PDFs. Read at your pace. Keep the record. Terms of service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Folio4 screens
Vesper4 screens

Verdict

The call

Folio and Vesper are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters โ€” price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them โ€” neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Folio sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Vesper sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Folio versus Vesper: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFolioVesper
PriceFreeFree
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 โ€” better17.5
Further details โ€” not scored
Size13 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLaxman ShahS Tan

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Folio

One-time1
  • Folio Plus Lifetime$4.99
3 purchases

Vesper

Subscriptions2
  • Vesper Premium Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Vesper Premium Yearly$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • Book Library Lifetime$24.99

Questions

Is Folio free?
Folio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Vesper free?
Vesper is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Folio or Vesper have ads?
Neither Folio nor Vesper shows ads.

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