Comparison

Bram's Reading App vs BookWave

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

Head to head
About

Bram's Reading App

Features
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Bram's Reading App is a toolkit for becoming a serious reader. Build a personal library, ask better questions, and turn notes into a connected system of ideas. **Core ideas** • Questions before completion • Annotations that deepen understanding • Parallel reading to make connections faster **What you can do** • Add books and track progress at a glance • Capture annotations quickly (including from the Share Sheet) • Link notes to questions and revisit what matters • Add characters, events, and settings to your book, along with their relationships • Find similar annotations across different books • Run timed reading sessions with a Live Activity timer • See your reading streaks with an annotation heatmap • Search books and annotations in one place • Explore a methodology for reading as a system • Add widgets for quick capture and selected books • Visually traverse your library with Quiz and Explore Whether you’re reading one great book or five at once, Bram’s Reading App helps you stay curious, intentional, and consistent.

About

BookWave

Features
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BookWave is a simple, beautiful way to read and listen to EPUBs, PDFs, and scanned book pages—no accounts, no clutter, just your books. IMPORT OR SCAN YOUR BOOKS Add any DRM-free EPUB or PDF to BookWave, and it appears on your shelf in seconds. You can also scan pages from a printed book, turn them into text, and create your own EPUB. Your library is yours: organize books into folders and keep everything in one place. LISTEN TO ANY BOOK BookWave reads your books aloud with natural-sounding voices, entirely on your device. When available, words are highlighted as they’re spoken, so you can follow along or switch between reading and listening anytime. Playback continues in the background, so you can listen while walking, commuting, or with the screen off. EVERYTHING STAYS IN SYNC Your library, reading progress, highlights, and bookmarks sync privately between your iPhone and iPad through iCloud. Start reading a chapter on one device and continue from exactly where you left off on another. No registration, no accounts, no third-party servers. SAVE WHAT MATTERS Save important passages as highlights. Your highlights and bookmarks stay with the book across all your devices. TRACK YOUR READING See how much you read and listen each day, and watch your reading habit grow. 20 CLASSICS INCLUDED Start reading right away with a free built-in library of classic EPUB books—including Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Around the World in Eighty Days, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, and many more. PRIVATE BY DESIGN BookWave has no accounts and no tracking. Your books and reading data live on your device and in your personal iCloud—nowhere else. BOOKWAVE PRO Reading and importing books are free, and you can listen to every built-in classic at no cost. BookWave Pro unlocks listening for your imported EPUB and PDF books, along with detailed reading statistics. Monthly and yearly auto-renewable subscriptions are available. Each includes a one-week free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription anytime in your Apple Account settings. Privacy Policy: https://minimapps.github.io/bookwave/privacy-policy.html Terms of Use: https://minimapps.github.io/bookwave/terms.html

Screenshots

Bram's Reading App4 screens
BookWave4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Bram's Reading App at none against BookWave's 2. BookWave's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.2). On price, update cadence, ads 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. BookWave sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Bram's Reading App asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bram's Reading App ships an update every 4 days, BookWave every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
Bram's Reading App versus BookWave: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBram's Reading AppBookWave
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 6 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.217.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB47 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperBram AdamsNazarii Stefaniuk

In-app purchases

None

Bram's Reading App

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

BookWave

Subscriptions2
  • BookWave Pro Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • BookWave Pro Yearly7 Days trial$24.991 Year

Questions

Is Bram's Reading App free?
Bram's Reading App is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is BookWave free?
BookWave is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Bram's Reading App or BookWave have ads?
Neither Bram's Reading App nor BookWave shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bram's Reading App or BookWave?
Bram's Reading App ships an update every 4 days, and BookWave every 6 days. Most recently, Bram's Reading App was updated on September 29, 2026 and BookWave on October 7, 2026.

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