Comparison

Scream Book vs Murmur

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

Head to head
About

Scream Book

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Scream Book turns any EPUB, PDF, or FB2 into an audiobook — instantly. Import your favorite books and let Scream Book read them aloud with natural text-to-speech. Follow along as each word and sentence is highlighted in real time. Designed with accessibility at its core, Scream Book is the reading companion for everyone — especially readers with dyslexia. Works on iPhone and iPad. KEY FEATURES -- EPUB & FB2 Read Aloud with Highlighting -- Import any EPUB or FB2 (FictionBook, including .fb2.zip and .fbz) and listen as it's read aloud with natural text-to-speech. Real-time word and sentence highlighting keeps you focused on every page. Full text reflow with custom fonts and themes for the perfect reading experience. -- Full PDF Support -- Open any PDF and listen to it read aloud with sentence-by-sentence highlighting. Dark mode, bookmarks, table of contents, and search — all built in. Smart page number and header/footer skipping for a clean listening experience. -- Book Catalog -- Browse and download unlimited free books from Project Gutenberg and Arxiv. Discover classics and academic papers — all free, no restrictions. -- Dyslexia-Friendly -- OpenDyslexic font with optimized line spacing, designed to make reading easier for dyslexic readers. Free for everyone. -- Customizable Reading Experience -- Choose from 7 reading fonts, adjust text size and line spacing, and pick from 7 color themes — light, dark, sepia, gray, ocean, forest, sunset — or create your own custom theme. -- Full Playback Controls -- Adjust speed (0.5x to 3x), pitch, and voice. Lock screen controls and background playback let you listen on the go. -- Bookmarks, Navigation & Search -- Bookmark your favorite passages with custom colors. Jump between chapters with the table of contents. Search within your book to find any passage instantly. -- Sleep Timer -- Fall asleep to your book with end-of-chapter or timed sleep modes. -- Your Books, Your Privacy -- All books stay on your device. No accounts, no cloud, no tracking. FREE FEATURES - Book Catalog — unlimited free book downloads - Import 1 book per month (EPUB, PDF, or FB2) - Default voice and speed - OpenDyslexic font with optimized spacing - Light and dark themes PRO FEATURES ($14.99 one-time) - Unlimited book imports (EPUB, PDF, or FB2) - All voices and languages - Full speed and pitch control - 5 premium themes + Custom colors - Lock screen and background playback - Bookmarks and sleep timer

About

Murmur

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Turn the books and documents you already own into audiobooks. Murmur reads EPUBs and PDFs aloud with natural neural voices that run entirely on your iPhone. Import a book, choose a narrator, press play, and keep listening while you commute, exercise, cook, clean, or simply give your eyes a break. NO AUDIOBOOK? NO PROBLEM. Most books will never receive a professionally produced audiobook. Your textbooks, PDFs, self-published books, research material, old EPUBs, and personal documents may never have one at all. Murmur lets you listen to the files you already have instead of buying another copy. READ EPUB & PDF ALOUD Import EPUB and PDF files directly into your library. Murmur organizes books into chapters and paragraphs and keeps your reading and listening position together. Follow the text while the narrator speaks, or put your phone away and keep listening in the background. 23 NEURAL VOICES Choose from 23 bundled narrators across 10 languages. Set a default narrator for each language or choose a different voice for an individual book. Adjust playback speed whenever you want. PRIVATE AND OFFLINE Your books stay on your iPhone. Speech is generated on-device, so Murmur doesn't need to upload your EPUBs, PDFs, textbooks, or personal documents to a text-to-speech server. • No account • No document uploads • No cloud processing • No internet connection required for narration • Background playback BUILT FOR BOOKS, NOT JUST TEXT Murmur combines an EPUB reader, PDF reader, text-to-speech engine, audiobook player, and follow-along reader in one library. Use it for: • EPUB books • PDF books and documents • Textbooks and course material • Research and professional reading • Independent and self-published books • Out-of-print titles • Long reading backlogs • Hands-free reading • Read-aloud and accessibility workflows LISTEN YOUR WAY Murmur remembers your position, playback speed, and narrator settings for every book. Switch between reading and listening without losing your place. FREE TO START Import as many books as you want. Free includes 60 minutes of listening every 30 days and access to one English and one Polish narrator. Murmur Premium unlocks unlimited listening and all 23 voices. Your books already contain the words. Murmur gives them a voice. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://readbuildship.com/apps/murmur/privacy

Screenshots

Scream Book4 screens
Murmur4 screens

Verdict

The call

Scream Book and Murmur are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Scream Book sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Murmur sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Scream Book ships an update every 5 days, Murmur every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Scream Book versus Murmur: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScream BookMurmur
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB2.2 GB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOlga CovalciucJan Piotrzkowski

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Scream Book

One-time2
  • Pro Reader$12.99
  • Buy me a coffee - Support Developer$22.99
3 purchases

Murmur

Subscriptions3
  • Premium Weekly$4.997 Days
  • Premium Monthly$14.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Scream Book free?
Scream Book is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Murmur free?
Murmur is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Scream Book or Murmur have ads?
Neither Scream Book nor Murmur shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Scream Book or Murmur?
Scream Book ships an update every 5 days, and Murmur every 9 days. Most recently, Scream Book was updated on October 25, 2026 and Murmur on October 24, 2026.

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