Comparison

Minkly vs MagicReader

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

Head to head
About

Minkly

Discover and read serialized web novels across various genres, or publish your own stories. Automatically converts written chapters to audio upon release, allowing seamless switching between reading and listening.

Highlights
  • Read web novels
  • Publish your own stories
  • Automatic audio chapter generation
  • Switch between reading and listening
  • Multiple genres available
Features
Read full description

Minkly is a home for web novels and serialized fiction. Read stories across fantasy, sci-fi, romance, horror, mystery, thriller, and slice-of-life, or publish your own work and reach readers worldwide. Every chapter is automatically turned into audio the moment it goes live, so you can switch between reading and listening whenever it suits you, and authors reach audio-first readers without a separate production.

About

MagicReader

Features
Read full description

Read without touching the screen. MagicReader turns your iPhone or iPad into a book that responds to you — turn your head, wink, wave a hand, or just say "next page", and the page turns. Whether your hands are busy, wet, full, or simply resting — or touching the screen is difficult for you — MagicReader keeps the story going. TOUCH-FREE READING • Head control — turn your head left or right to flip pages; look up to open or close a book • Wink control — wink your right eye to go forward, your left to go back (Face ID devices) • Hand control — a cursor follows your hand; close your hand to grab a book, swipe from the screen edge to flip • Voice control — say "next", "back", "open", "read aloud" and more, in English or Japanese • A guided tour teaches every gesture with live practice NATURAL READ-ALOUD • Beautiful, natural voices read your books to you — English and Japanese • Japanese voices powered by VOICEVOX (VOICEVOX:No.7, VOICEVOX:四国めたん, VOICEVOX:青山龍星, VOICEVOX Nemo) • Pages turn automatically in sync with the narration • Voices are downloaded once, then work fully offline — all speech is generated on your device YOUR LIBRARY, YOUR WAY • EPUB and PDF books, plus CBZ/CBR comics and manga • Beautiful animated bookshelf themes — drifting watercolour clouds, a starry cosmos, and story worlds that come alive behind special books • Japanese vertical text (縦書き) done right, with optional automatic furigana (ふりがな) above kanji • Comfortable reading themes, adjustable fonts (including OpenDyslexic), and remembered positions THOUSANDS OF FREE CLASSICS • Browse and download public-domain classics from Project Gutenberg and Aozora Bunko (青空文庫) — from Alice in Wonderland to 銀河鉄道の夜 — right inside the app PRIVATE BY DESIGN • The camera and microphone are used only to recognize your gestures and commands, entirely on your device • Nothing is recorded, nothing is uploaded, and there are no accounts, no ads, and no tracking — ever MagicReader began in 2012 as one of the first face-controlled book readers on the App Store. It has been rebuilt from the ground up for today's devices — same magic, new tricks. Reading is best when nothing comes between you and the story. Not even your hands.

Screenshots

Minkly4 screens
MagicReader1 screens

Verdict

The call

Minkly and MagicReader are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Minkly versus MagicReader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMinklyMagicReader
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size65 MB59 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperMINKLY LLCLeo Rivas-Micoud

In-app purchases

None

Minkly

No in-app purchases

None

MagicReader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Minkly free?
Minkly is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MagicReader free?
MagicReader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Minkly or MagicReader have ads?
Neither Minkly nor MagicReader shows ads.

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