Maho Notes vs DocReader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Maho Notes
Read full descriptionHide full description
Maho Notes is a markdown-based note-taking app for people who care about their words — and want to keep them. Every note is a plain .md file on your device. No proprietary format, no vendor lock-in, no servers you don't control. Sync through your own iCloud, your own GitHub repo, or keep notes purely local — your choice. A NOTES APP THAT SPEAKS YOUR LANGUAGE Full multilingual support, including search across English, 中文 (Traditional Chinese), 日本語 (Japanese), and 한국어 (Korean) — powered by a CJK-aware tokenizer that actually understands word boundaries in each language. Add furigana to Japanese kanji, Zhuyin to Mandarin, Tâi-lô to Taiwanese, or readings to Korean — all with one simple syntax: {漢字|ふりがな}. THREE WAYS TO SEARCH • Keyword search — fast SQLite FTS5 across every note • Semantic search — on-device vector embeddings find ideas, not just words • Hybrid — both, fused into one ranked list Models run entirely on-device. Nothing about your notes leaves your hardware. WRITTEN IN MARKDOWN, RENDERED BEAUTIFULLY • Full CommonMark + GitHub Flavored Markdown • KaTeX math equations • Mermaid diagrams • Syntax-highlighted code blocks • Ruby annotations for any language • Image and asset embedding • Tables, task lists, footnotes ORGANIZE YOUR WAY Vaults hold collections. Collections hold notes. Drag-and-drop reordering, custom icons and colors, hierarchical sub-collections, and per-collection ordering — all stored in plain YAML you can read. SYNC THAT RESPECTS YOU • iCloud — seamless across your Apple devices • GitHub — version your notes as a private repo, sync through your own account using GitHub's official Device Flow login (no third-party server in the middle) • Device-only — keep everything offline Conflicts get clearly-named files (note.conflict-DeviceName.md), never silent overwrites. UNIVERSAL APP One purchase covers iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Optimized layouts for each: a focus-friendly stack on iPhone, a three-column workspace on iPad and Mac, with the same vault wherever you are.
DocReader
This app allows you to read PDFs and EPUBs offline, with a text-to-speech feature that reads content aloud. It offers customizable reading settings and supports various file formats, keeping your library local.
- Offline PDF and EPUB reading
- Text-to-speech with highlighting
- Customizable reading comfort settings
- Local library management
- Support for various file formats
- On-device OCR for scanned PDFs
Read full descriptionHide full description
DOCREADER — READ PDFS & EPUBS, LISTEN OFFLINE, KEEP YOUR LIBRARY LOCAL DocReader is a full-featured reader for study, work, and leisure: open PDFs and EPUBs from your device, resume where you stopped, and switch to read-aloud with highlighting when your eyes need a rest. Use your system voices or optional offline engines you download once—no account with us required. Navigation keeps essentials one gesture away: open files, Project Gutenberg, quick theme and TTS shortcuts, full Settings, and your recent list. READ-ALOUD & VOICES Start, pause, resume, or stop from the document toolbar; highlighting tracks speech when content supports it. Skip configured headings or lines during read-aloud for manuals and reference EPUBs. Pick your engine: System TTS uses built-in OS voices—no extra download. Kokoro-style offline voices (Sherpa ONNX) prioritize natural speech via an optional pack; synthesis stays on-device after install. Supertonic is a separate optional pack for very fast on-device speech—great for long documents or cooler phones on marathon listens. Adjust rate and speaker where offered; optionally keep the screen awake during playback. READING COMFORT Light, dark, or system theme. PDF dark mode is tuned for legibility without harsh glare. Set default PDF and EPUB view scale (fit page, fit width, or other offered modes) and document scroll speed. Quick toggles and in-document panels expose theme, fonts where available, and key reading settings without deep menu hunting. The full Settings screen groups theme, scroll speed, scale defaults, voice-pack status, TTS engine selection, speakers, and keep-awake options in one place. While viewing a document, open TTS settings from the drawer to change engines, speakers, or start voice-pack downloads. LIBRARY & EVERYDAY WORKFLOW The home screen lists recent documents with timestamps for quick return visits. Open files through the system picker; imports stay under your control, not a proprietary cloud. With Remember reading position enabled, DocReader restores the last page or section next time. On iOS, materials may appear under Files when the system surfaces the app documents folder—handy alongside your other backups. FORMATS FOR REAL FILES Smooth PDF viewing with zoom and default scale modes tuned separately from EPUB. Reflowable EPUBs suit novels and structured nonfiction. Beyond books, open many plain-text and code-adjacent types—Markdown, logs, subtitles, configs, JSON, CSV, common source extensions, and more—plus HTML and popular image formats. Unsupported archives or office packages may hand off to another installed app when the platform allows. SCANNED PDFS / OCR When a PDF has no text layer, on-device OCR (where the platform supports it) recovers text for reading and read-aloud and supports page-space highlights—without sending page images to a DocReader cloud OCR service. PROJECT GUTENBERG From the drawer, browse and download public-domain titles when online; files join your local library for offline reading and listening. Catalog hosts are third parties; availability may vary. DESKTOP & MOBILE Use DocReader on phones, tablets, and supported desktops with layout and window chrome suited to each environment—including draggable title areas on desktop where provided. PRIVACY IN BRIEF Library metadata, preferences, and positions stay on your device. The network is used when you choose features that need it—Gutenberg discovery/downloads or optional voice archives—not to silently upload your private collection. See the linked Privacy Policy for details. SUPPORT Questions or bugs: 2asoftwaredevelopers@gmail.com — include device, OS, and app version (build shown in the drawer when available). Thank you for choosing DocReader—read deeply, listen comfortably, stay in control of your library.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: DocReader at none against Maho Notes's 3. DocReader also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Maho Notes sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. DocReader asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Maho Notes | DocReader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | — | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 17 MB | 75 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kuo-Chuan Pan | Emmanuel Adooli |
In-app purchases
Maho Notes
- Small Tip$1.99
- Medium Tip$4.99
- Large Tip$9.99
DocReader
No in-app purchases









