EpubReader vs iRead
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
EpubReader
Read EPUB books offline with a customizable reader. Listen to your books with built-in text-to-speech and sync your library across devices. Organize your collection with custom collections and smart sorting.
- Offline EPUB reading
- Built-in text-to-speech (TTS)
- iCloud library sync
- Customizable reading experience
- Organize books into collections
- Multiple import methods
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EpubReader is a clean, powerful ebook reader built exclusively for iPhone and iPad. Read EPUB books offline, listen with built-in text-to-speech, and sync your entire library across devices with iCloud. Import DRM-free EPUB books in seconds, organize them into custom collections, customize every detail of your reading experience — fonts, themes, dark mode — and pick up right where you left off on any device. Effortless Book Import • Import EPUB files from Files or iCloud Drive • WiFi Transfer – drag and drop books from Mac or PC • Open in from Safari • AirDrop support Fully Customizable Reading • Light, Sepia, Dark Mode & True Black (OLED) night mode themes • Adjust font size, line height, margins, and spacing • Choose from premium, highly readable fonts • Page curl animation or smooth vertical scrolling • Bookmarks with notes and color highlights Built-in Text-to-Speech (TTS) — Read Aloud • Listen to your ebooks hands-free like an audiobook • Real-time sentence highlighting • Automatic page turning • Great for multitasking or resting your eyes Automatic iCloud Sync • Sync books across iPhone and iPad • Reading progress, bookmarks & highlights stay updated • Secure and private — powered by your personal iCloud Smart Library & Collections • Organize your books into custom collections • Create multiple bookshelves for different genres, authors, or projects • Quickly add or move books between collections • Smart sorting by recent reads so your current book is always easy to find • Full Table of Contents navigation Privacy First • EpubReader never tracks your reading habits. • No analytics tracking. • No data selling. • No mandatory sign-ups. • All books stay on your device or securely in your personal iCloud. Download EpubReader today and enjoy a distraction-free reading experience. Note: EpubReader supports DRM-free EPUB files only. DRM-protected books are not supported.
iRead
Listen to your EPUB, TXT, and MOBI books with natural-sounding voices, completely offline. Import your existing library and enjoy background playback with lock screen controls. A Pro version unlocks premium voices with a one-time purchase.
- Listen to EPUB, TXT, MOBI aloud
- Natural neural voices
- Fully offline operation
- Background playback
- Import from Files/Share Sheet
- Light/dark themes
- Library management
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iRead reads the books you already own out loud — natural voices, fully offline, no subscription. LISTEN TO YOUR OWN BOOKS • Natural neural voices read EPUB, TXT and MOBI aloud • Keeps playing in the background, with the screen locked • Lock screen and headphone controls, like a podcast • Voices in nine languages: English, Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese and Korean — each chapter is read in its own language automatically • Runs entirely on your phone — your text is never uploaded READ THEM TOO • Import from Files, the share sheet, or your computer over Wi-Fi • Light and dark themes, adjustable size and spacing • Shelf with covers, categories and reading progress • One backup file carries your library, progress and settings between devices GOOD TO KNOW • PDF opens for reading but cannot be read aloud — convert it to EPUB first (free converter at iread.gaiya.cc) • DRM-protected books, including Kindle and Apple Books purchases, cannot be opened • There is no store inside iRead. It never sells or ships books; it opens the ones you already have FREE AND PRO • Free: the whole reader, plus your device's built-in system voice • Pro: unlocks the natural neural voices. One-time purchase, yours forever • No subscription, no account, no ads, no tracking
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: EpubReader at none against iRead's 1. EpubReader also leads on ratings volume (4 vs 1). iRead's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). 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
Both are free to download. iRead sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. EpubReader asks for nothing beyond the download.
iRead holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 1 respectively.
EpubReader ships an update every 3 months, iRead every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | EpubReader | iRead |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (4 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 44 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Penghui Zhao | Shuhui Sheng |
Customer experience
EpubReader
iRead
In-app purchases
EpubReader
No in-app purchases
iRead
- iRead Pro$11.99








