Comparison

Folio vs Folio Reader

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

Head to head
About

Folio

Features
Read full description

Meet Ollie, your reading companion — 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 — 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 — 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 — 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 — without ever guilt-tripping you. FOLIO PREMIUM — $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

Folio Reader

Organize your reading life by tracking books, saving quotes, and writing personalized reviews. This app provides a private space for your literary journey, syncing your library securely via iCloud.

Highlights
  • Organize books by reading status
  • Scan barcodes to add titles
  • Extract text from book pages using camera
  • Customizable book ratings and reviews
  • Share book recommendations
  • Private, iCloud-synced library
Features
Read full description

A home for the books you read. Folio keeps the books you've read, the passages you saved, and the reviews you wrote. All in one place, and all your own. Your library Every book has its place: Reading, On the Shelf, Finished, or Set Aside. Add a title by searching for it or scanning the barcode, and it shows up with its cover. Open Folio and pick up right where you left off. Quotes and notes Found a line worth keeping? Point your camera at the page and Folio pulls the words off it. Note the page, mark who said it, and the passage joins the rest of what you've collected. Snap the line and keep reading. More than stars Rate the prose, the characters, the pacing, or make up your own categories. Write the kind of review that actually sounds like you, not a row of stars and a shrug. Pass a good book Turn a book into a card worth sending, or share a link that drops it straight into a friend's Folio with one tap. The good ones are meant to travel. Privacy first No social feed, no social anxiety. Your books, quotes, notes, and reviews live on your devices and in your own iCloud, synced privately between them. There's no Folio account, and nothing we can see. You decide what to share, if anything at all. Always yours, always safe Your library syncs through your own iCloud, so it's safe even when your phone isn't. Get a new iPhone or reinstall Folio, and everything's right where you left it. Nothing to set up, nothing to remember. Folio is for readers who'd rather keep their reading close and private.

Screenshots

Folio4 screens
Folio Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Folio Reader at none against Folio's 1. 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. Folio sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Folio Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Folio versus Folio Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFolioFolio Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequency—Every 6 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLaxman ShahVinner Escobar

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Folio

One-time1
  • Folio Plus Lifetime$4.99
None

Folio Reader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Folio free?
Folio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Folio Reader free?
Folio Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Folio or Folio Reader have ads?
Neither Folio nor Folio Reader shows ads.

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