expt vs Vesper
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
expt
A beautiful, distraction-free reader for all your local files, including EPUBs, PDFs, comics, and text documents. Organize your library, track reading progress, and enjoy a focused reading experience with customizable themes and layouts.
- Read EPUB, PDF, CBZ, CBR, TXT, CSV, code files
- Customizable reader themes and typography
- Distraction-free reading mode
- Library organization with series and tags
- Reading progress tracking and stats
- iCloud sync for reading positions
- 100% local file storage
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expt is a beautiful, distraction-free reader for all your local files. Import EPUBs, PDFs, comics, text files, and more — everything opens in a clean, focused reading experience designed for deep reading. **Read Everything** • EPUB books with chapter navigation and search • PDF documents with native rendering • CBZ and CBR comic archives with page-turn viewer • Plain text, Markdown, CSV, code files, and HTML • ZIP archives with image grid browser **Designed for Reading** • Six reader themes: Light, Sepia, Dark, Solarized, Nord, Ink • Adjustable font, size, line height, and margins • Distraction-free mode hides all chrome • Reading progress tracked automatically **Organize Your Library** • Create series to group related files in reading order • Label and filter files by type, status, or custom tags • Search across your entire library by title or author • Track reading streaks and daily stats **Built for Apple** • Native iOS design with dark and light mode • iPad support with adaptive layouts • iCloud sync for reading positions across devices • Text-to-speech with language detection **Your Files, Your Device** • 100% local — no cloud storage, no accounts, no tracking • Import via Files app, Share Sheet, or drag and drop • Files stay on your device in the app sandbox
Vesper
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A calm, focused place to read your own EPUB and PDF books and keep a private journal of everything you read. Load your library, open a book, and the reader gets out of the way. Tap once to hide every chrome element so it's just you and the page. Highlights you save show up in a Quote of the Day widget on your Home Screen, so the lines that mattered come back to find you later. A reading buddy lives inside the book. Tap the chat button on any page and ask about what you're looking at — a phrase, a character, the historical moment, your own half-formed thought. A short answer appears beside the page. Useful for catching a reference, asking a question, working through a passage out loud, or when a scene just wants to be talked about. The journal half of the app tracks what you're reading, what you've finished, and what's still waiting. Build custom views with filters and sorts — Currently Reading, Finished This Year, By Genre, by anything you care about. Tag books with genres and subgenres, add notes, set reading status. It's a bookshelf you actually use. Features: • Read EPUB and PDF files from your library, iCloud Drive, Files, or anywhere on your device • Ask AI about the page you're on, without leaving the book • Save highlights and revisit them via the Home Screen widget • Track reading status, finish dates, genres, and notes per book • Build custom filtered views of your library • Multiple typefaces, adjustable size, and full theme control • Automatic Day/Night theme that follows local sunset • Private iCloud sync across iPhone and iPad — your data, your account • Designed for both phone and iPad Bring your own EPUBs and PDFs. Read at your pace. Keep the record. Terms of service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: expt at none against Vesper's 3. expt also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.5). 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. Vesper sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. expt asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | expt | Vesper |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 45 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Arthur Park | S Tan |
In-app purchases
expt
No in-app purchases
Vesper
- Vesper Premium Monthly$2.991 Month
- Vesper Premium Yearly$24.991 Year
- Book Library Lifetime$24.99









