Comparison

Read Fast vs Velo

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

Head to head
About

Read Fast

This app helps you read faster by displaying words sequentially in the center of the screen, reducing subvocalization and improving focus. It supports various file formats and tracks your reading progress to build a consistent habit.

Highlights
  • Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) engine
  • Breaks subvocalization bottleneck
  • Import EPUB, PDF, TXT, and pasted text
  • Track daily streaks and WPM
  • Reduces eye fatigue
  • Local device processing for privacy
Features
Read full description

STOP READING. START ABSORBING. Most people read at about the same speed they speak. The reason is subvocalization: the small inner voice that sounds out every word. Absorb is built to break that bottleneck and change how you move through text. Absorb uses an advanced Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) engine. Instead of making your eyes scan back and forth across a page, it shows words one after another in the same spot and highlights each word's Optimal Recognition Point. Your gaze stays centered, your focus stays locked, and text moves straight into visual processing. WHY READERS USE ABSORB STEADY FOCUS: The rapid display leaves less room for wandering attention and helps you enter a steady reading flow. BUILD THE HABIT: Track daily streaks, average WPM, reading time, and progress so speed becomes something you can actually train. BRING YOUR OWN BOOKS: Import EPUB, PDF, TXT, and pasted text from your device. LESS EYE FATIGUE: Stop losing your place. Sit back, watch the center, and let the book come to you. PRIVATE BY DESIGN: Processing happens locally on your device. Your files and reading data do not leave your phone. Absorb offers monthly access and a one-time Lifetime unlock. Full access requires a subscription or Lifetime unlock. Download Absorb, import your first book, and finish it tonight. Terms: https://absorb-app-ncmw.onrender.com/terms.html

About

Velo

This app offers a unique reading experience for EPUBs, PDFs, and text files, optimizing them for clarity and focus. It features multiple reading modes, including a one-word-at-a-time focus mode, and provides tools for annotation and progress tracking.

Highlights
  • One-word-at-a-time focus mode
  • Reflows PDFs with chapter detection and OCR
  • Publisher typography and custom font support
  • Read-aloud with synced progress
  • Catch Me Up recap with Apple Intelligence
  • Highlights and notes export
  • Cloud sync across devices
Features
Read full description

Velo is the best way to read on iOS and Mac. IT READS LIKE THE BOOK Bring any EPUB, PDF, or text file you own — import from Files or share it in from any app. Velo renders the publisher's typography, figures, and footnotes, with a real table of contents. Choose the book's own font or your own, set the size, spacing, and brightness. PDFs become real, reflowing books: chapters detected, footnotes linked, running headers stripped, two-column academic layouts resequenced, scanned pages OCR'd on your device. BUILT FOR THE HARDWARE YOU OWN Native on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with gestures, haptics, and Live Activities on the Lock Screen. Three reading modes share one word-level position and switch in under 100 ms, so it feels like one surface. Everything works offline. Standard books are processed on your device and never leave it. FOCUS MODE — THE FEATURE NOTHING ELSE HAS One word at a time on a fixed focal point, so attention has nowhere to slide. Timing adapts to punctuation and complexity, from 50 to 1,000 words per minute. Turn it down to lock in on a dense chapter, up when the prose is easy. Focus Mode can even match the book's own typeface. Reader Mode is the full page, in real typography, with highlights and notes. Scrub is the hand on the stream: drag with momentum to rewind or catch up. One tap between any of them, and your place is exact. EVERYTHING A SERIOUS READER EXPECTS • Listen — read-aloud with word-by-word tracking, voice choice, sleep timer, Lock Screen controls. Your position stays synced whether you read or hear it. • Catch Me Up — a recap of where you left off, generated on your device with Apple Intelligence (on supported devices). • Highlights and notes in your choice of colors, with export to Markdown or plain text (Pro). • Cloud sync of books, position, highlights, notes, and stats across iPhone, iPad, and Mac (Pro). • Reading stats — time remaining, chapter progress, and a weekly chart of what you read. • Send to Velo from Files, Safari, Mail, or any app via the Share Sheet. • Velo Library — unlimited free public-domain classics, no account needed. FREE • Three of your own books, every reading mode, on-device processing, highlights and notes, and the full Velo Library. PRO — 7-DAY FREE TRIAL • Unlimited library across iPhone, iPad, and Mac • 20 Enhanced Processing conversions per month for the hardest academic PDFs (credit packs available: 10 for $4.99, 50 for $19.99, never expire) • Cloud sync, export, priority processing, priority support PRIVACY Your books stay on your device. On-device processing handles EPUBs, text files, and standard PDFs. Enhanced Processing is opt-in, for complex academic PDFs that benefit from server-side extraction. Cloud sync is encrypted in transit and at rest. No ads, no data sales, no tracking of what you read. SUBSCRIPTION TERMS Velo Pro is a subscription. The 7-day free trial starts when you begin the trial. After the trial, Velo Pro auto-renews at $69.99/year or $8.99/month until cancelled. Cancel anytime in Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions. Payment is charged to your Apple ID. Subscription auto-renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Terms of Use: https://veloreader.com/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://veloreader.com/privacy.html

Screenshots

Read Fast4 screens
Velo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Read Fast at every 2 days against Velo's every 3 weeks. Velo's advantage is device support (4 vs 2). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Read Fast sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Velo sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Read Fast against 5.0 for Velo. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 2 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Read Fast ships an update every 2 days, Velo every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Read Fast versus Velo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRead FastVelo
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings22
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.415.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size164 MB23 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperMaksym HoroszczakPleroma Labs LLC

Customer experience

Read Fast

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Velo

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Read Fast

Subscriptions2
  • Absorb$4.991 Month
  • Absorb Pro Annual7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Absorb Pro Lifetime$69.99
4 purchases

Velo

Subscriptions2
  • Velo Pro (Monthly)7 Days trial$8.991 Month
  • Velo Pro (Annual)7 Days trial$69.991 Year
One-time2
  • 10 Enhanced Processing Credits$4.99
  • 50 Enhanced Processing Credits$19.99

Questions

Is Read Fast free?
Read Fast is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Velo free?
Velo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Read Fast or Velo?
Read Fast and Velo are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do Read Fast or Velo have ads?
Neither Read Fast nor Velo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Read Fast or Velo?
Read Fast ships an update every 2 days, and Velo every 3 weeks. Most recently, Read Fast was updated on October 31, 2026 and Velo on November 9, 2026.

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