Comparison

Vela Reader vs AO3X

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

Head to head
About

Vela Reader

Enhance your reading experience of classic literature with an AI companion. Get instant context, definitions, and historical information without leaving the page. Visualize scenes with AI-generated illustrations.

Highlights
  • AI-powered contextual explanations
  • Historical context and definitions
  • AI-generated scene illustrations
  • Thousands of public-domain books
  • Distraction-free reading modes
  • Adjustable typography
  • Bookmarks and in-book search
Features
Read full description

Always wanted to read Moby-Dick, Ulysses, or War and Peace — and actually enjoy them? Vela is a beautiful reader for the world's great books, with an AI companion that helps you understand every page and bring it to life. Highlight any line and ask. Get the historical context, a character you lost track of, the meaning of an archaic word, or what a dense passage is really saying — in seconds, right beside the text. It's the context you'd otherwise put the book down to go hunt for, without ever leaving the page. And picture what you're reading: illustrate any scene and bring the moment to life. A calm, modern home for the classics: • Thousands of public-domain works from Standard Ebooks and Project Gutenberg • Distraction-free reading — light, sepia, dark and bedtime themes • Adjustable typography: font, size, and spacing • Bookmarks, in-book search, and beautiful quote cards to share Vela isn't a summary tool or a shortcut — it helps you read the actual book, and get more out of every page. New accounts include a trial of AI questions. Keep going with Pro ($6.99/month) or Bonfire ($14.99/month) for more questions each month. For readers who want to finally get through the great books — and love them. Terms of Use (EULA): https://vela.cool/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://vela.cool/privacy.html

About

AO3X

This app provides a streamlined mobile reading experience for fanfiction from Archive of Our Own. It offers features like search, library management, reading history, and customizable themes for offline access.

Highlights
  • Fanfiction discovery and search
  • Local library management
  • Reading history tracking
  • Adjustable reader themes
  • Offline fallback samples
Features
Read full description

Block a tag once and it stays blocked — in Discover, in Search, and on every tag page you open after that. AO3X is an independent reader for Archive of Our Own. Same archive you already read on, in an app that's actually built for reading it. Follow authors and series in one place. Browse author catalogs and read each series in its original order. Save chapters or complete works for offline reading. When AO3 offers an original EPUB download, save it and share it with other reading apps. Follow fandoms as Interests for a balanced Discover feed. When a search is worth keeping — one fandom, complete works only, 50k and up, sorted by kudos — save it as a Custom Feed and return in one tap. Connect your AO3 account to read works available to signed-in users and access your AO3 History, Bookmarks, Marked for Later, and Collections. This connection is separate from your AO3X account. Imported AO3 lists stay separate from your local library, and AO3X does not write changes back to AO3. Read across languages with chapter translation. Switch between original text, translation, and bilingual reading. Translation requires an AO3X account and uses translation credits; additional credits are available through in-app purchases. Chapter text is sent to the translation service only when you request a translation. A reader worth spending three hours in. The font catalog adapts its recommendations to the script you are reading and can use fonts already on your device. Verified Chinese font packs are available on demand and stay on this device. Choose from four themes, then tune size, line spacing, and page margins. Close the app mid-chapter, come back next week, land on the same paragraph. Before you commit to a 200k WIP, the Reader's work menu shows the rating, every archive warning, the full tag list, the summary and the stats — so nothing catches you off guard on chapter 14. Read public works without an account. Your library, history and progress stay on this device by default. No ads and no cross-app tracking. Reading on more than one phone? Sign in to AO3X and choose whether to back up your library and progress for restoration on another device. Cloud backup is off by default on each device. Signing in alone does not turn it on or upload your reading data. Downloaded chapter text is excluded from cloud backup, and imported AO3 lists stay on this device. AO3X is unofficial. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Archive of Our Own or the Organization for Transformative Works. Works remain subject to AO3's own policies.

Screenshots

Vela Reader4 screens
AO3X4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: AO3X at every 4 days against Vela Reader's every 2 months. AO3X also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and ratings volume (13 vs 2). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Vela Reader sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and AO3X sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. 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 Vela Reader against 5.0 for AO3X. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AO3X has 13 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Vela Reader ships an update every 2 months, AO3X every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Vela Reader versus AO3X: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVela ReaderAO3X
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (13 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings213 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB43 MB
Age rating9+17+
DeveloperTasio Victoria凡 吴

Customer experience

Vela Reader

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

AO3X

All ratings13 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Vela Reader

Subscriptions2
  • Pro$6.991 Month
  • Bonfire$14.991 Month
3 purchases

AO3X

One-time3
  • 10 Translation Credits$0.99
  • 50 Translation Credits$3.99
  • 200 Translation Credits$12.99

Questions

Is Vela Reader free?
Vela Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is AO3X free?
AO3X is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Vela Reader or AO3X?
Vela Reader and AO3X are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 13 ratings respectively.
Do Vela Reader or AO3X have ads?
Neither Vela Reader nor AO3X shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Vela Reader or AO3X?
Vela Reader ships an update every 2 months, and AO3X every 4 days. Most recently, Vela Reader was updated on October 31, 2026 and AO3X on November 5, 2026.

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