Comparison

Nous vs SlowRead

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

Head to head
About

Nous

This app helps you actively track your reading by taking notes, capturing highlights, and organizing your library. It offers features for reflection, goal setting, and seamless integration with other services to enhance your reading experience.

Highlights
  • Real-time reading notes and thoughts
  • Book library organization
  • Highlight capture via typing or OCR
  • Reading session reflection and summary
  • Goal setting and streak tracking
  • Sync with Obsidian and Kindle
  • Homescreen widgets
Features
Read full description

TRACK READING THOUGHTS IN REAL TIME • Read actively by taking notes and thoughts during a session • Type or dictate your session book notes, and capture mid-session thoughts without breaking flow • Add highlights and book quotes by typing or scanning the book with OCR • Struggle to remember what you read? Actively recall previous reading sessions to enhance memory YOUR LIBRARY • Organize your books: includes TBR, Next, Reading, Finished, Paused, and Did Not Finish (DNF) • Search by title or author, scan an ISBN, or library import from other apps • Track print by pages, ebooks by percentage location, audiobooks by listening time • Categorize books with personal tags • Sync your library on iCloud — access on all your devices • Connect to Kindle for seamless highlight capture DON'T JUST RECORD — REFLECT • Each book has a session history so you can see progress over time • Finishing a book opens a reflection: rate it, write a summary or book review, and see your reading pace charted over time • Half-star ratings supported • Weekly, monthly, and yearly views show what you've actually read • Search highlights and session notes to look back on your thinking ENHANCE MOTIVATION AND REACH YOUR READING GOALS • Keep your daily streak going — or don't — streaks are optional • Set daily or yearly reading goals: build a consistent habit and hit yearly book challenges • Track your focus and energy levels over time • Homescreen widgets: streaks, yearly reading, and reading goal INTEGRATE AND EXPORT YOUR NOTES • Sync with Obsidian to upload book notes, session summaries, and highlights to your vault • Export sessions immediately after they occur • Save all your sessions and export as a whole book, all your notes and reflections • Backup and restore: make sure your notes are always safe. Includes optional iCloud backup Terms of Service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

SlowRead

This app helps you track your reading, manage your TBR list, and journal your reading experience with a visually appealing digital bookshelf. It also facilitates book club discussions and provides insightful reading statistics. Enjoy a free trial to explore all features before subscribing.

Highlights
  • Customizable digital bookshelf
  • TBR list and reading journal
  • Book club creation and discussion
  • Monthly and yearly reading wrap-ups
  • Reading streak and challenge tracking
  • Import from other reading apps
  • Library loan tracking
Features
Read full description

SlowRead is the book tracker with a bookshelf you will want to show off. Every book you read stands on your own shelf, with its real spine and cover. Keep your TBR, your reading journal and your reading log in one place, and share your bookshelf on BookTok and Instagram. YOUR BOOKSHELF • Every book stands on the shelf as a spine or as a cover. • Photograph your own copy to show its real spine, cover and sprayed edges, or use a photo another reader already shared. • Arrange your books by hand, lay them flat in piles and keep a series together. • Decorate with plants, candles, lights and more, and pick a theme for the wall and the wood. • Share a picture of your bookcase to your Stories on TikTok or Instagram. • Get a public profile at slowreadapp.com/@you with the bookcases you choose to show. BOOK CLUBS • Create a club or join one and read the same book together. • Talk in a channel for each part of the book, so nobody spoils what comes next. • Hide the parts of a message that are spoilers. • Vote on the club's next book. YOUR READING YEAR • Monthly and yearly wrap ups: cards to swipe through and share. • Your reader type, worked out from the books you finish. • A yearly reading challenge, and your year next to the last one. • Stats for pages, time and books, your reading speed and your top genres. • A reading streak, with past days you can fill in by hand. TRACKING WITHOUT EFFORT • Search millions of books or scan the barcode to add one in seconds. • Import your library from Goodreads, The StoryGraph, Bookmory, Fable or Libib. • Paperback, ebook and audiobook, even for the same book. • Track library loans with the due date and a reminder the day before. • Series grouped together, with your progress through each one. • Notes, quotes scanned from the page with your camera, and characters with a portrait and their relationships. • Half star ratings, rereads and did not finish. WIDGETS • Your bookshelf, what you are reading, your streak, your challenge and a daily quote on your Home Screen and Lock Screen. READING SESSIONS • Start a timed session from any book and log the page where you stop. • If you want, block the apps that distract you while you read, with Screen Time. All features described above require a subscription. A free trial is included, so you can try everything before paying. TERMS: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Nous4 screens
SlowRead4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Nous at none against SlowRead's shown. Nous also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6). SlowRead's advantage is ratings volume (814 vs 1) and chart position (#13 vs unranked). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Nous sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and SlowRead sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $8.39 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Nous holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SlowRead has 814 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nous ships an update weekly, SlowRead every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Nous versus SlowRead: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNousSlowRead
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.6 (814 ratings)
Positive reviews—22.5% of reviews
Number of ratings1814 — better
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#13 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS18.017.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB133 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperCaelan MitchellAdrian Martinez Moreno

Customer experience

Nous

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

SlowRead

All ratings810 ratings
Positive91.2%
Neutral1.9%
Negative6.9%
Written reviews120 reviews
Positive22.5%
Neutral5.8%
Negative71.7%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Nous

Subscriptions2
  • Nous Plus — Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Nous Plus — Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
4 purchases

SlowRead

Subscriptions3
  • Premium Weekly$8.397 Days
  • Premium Annual Offer$32.991 Year
  • Premium Annual3 Days trial$44.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime access to Slowread$149.99

Questions

Is Nous free?
Nous is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SlowRead free?
SlowRead is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Nous or SlowRead?
Nous is rated higher. Nous averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while SlowRead averages 4.6 from 814 ratings.
Do Nous or SlowRead have ads?
SlowRead shows ads; Nous does not.
Which is updated more often, Nous or SlowRead?
Nous ships an update weekly, and SlowRead every 3 days. Most recently, Nous was updated on October 31, 2026 and SlowRead on November 11, 2026.

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