Comparison

Velo vs Reads.

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

Head to head
About

Velo

This app offers a unique reading experience for EPUBs, PDFs, and text files, optimizing them for clarity and focus. It features multiple reading modes, including a one-word-at-a-time focus mode, and provides tools for annotation and progress tracking.

Highlights
  • One-word-at-a-time focus mode
  • Reflows PDFs with chapter detection and OCR
  • Publisher typography and custom font support
  • Read-aloud with synced progress
  • Catch Me Up recap with Apple Intelligence
  • Highlights and notes export
  • Cloud sync across devices
Features
Read full description

Velo is the best way to read on iOS and Mac. IT READS LIKE THE BOOK Bring any EPUB, PDF, or text file you own — import from Files or share it in from any app. Velo renders the publisher's typography, figures, and footnotes, with a real table of contents. Choose the book's own font or your own, set the size, spacing, and brightness. PDFs become real, reflowing books: chapters detected, footnotes linked, running headers stripped, two-column academic layouts resequenced, scanned pages OCR'd on your device. BUILT FOR THE HARDWARE YOU OWN Native on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with gestures, haptics, and Live Activities on the Lock Screen. Three reading modes share one word-level position and switch in under 100 ms, so it feels like one surface. Everything works offline. Standard books are processed on your device and never leave it. FOCUS MODE — THE FEATURE NOTHING ELSE HAS One word at a time on a fixed focal point, so attention has nowhere to slide. Timing adapts to punctuation and complexity, from 50 to 1,000 words per minute. Turn it down to lock in on a dense chapter, up when the prose is easy. Focus Mode can even match the book's own typeface. Reader Mode is the full page, in real typography, with highlights and notes. Scrub is the hand on the stream: drag with momentum to rewind or catch up. One tap between any of them, and your place is exact. EVERYTHING A SERIOUS READER EXPECTS • Listen — read-aloud with word-by-word tracking, voice choice, sleep timer, Lock Screen controls. Your position stays synced whether you read or hear it. • Catch Me Up — a recap of where you left off, generated on your device with Apple Intelligence (on supported devices). • Highlights and notes in your choice of colors, with export to Markdown or plain text (Pro). • Cloud sync of books, position, highlights, notes, and stats across iPhone, iPad, and Mac (Pro). • Reading stats — time remaining, chapter progress, and a weekly chart of what you read. • Send to Velo from Files, Safari, Mail, or any app via the Share Sheet. • Velo Library — unlimited free public-domain classics, no account needed. FREE • Three of your own books, every reading mode, on-device processing, highlights and notes, and the full Velo Library. PRO — 7-DAY FREE TRIAL • Unlimited library across iPhone, iPad, and Mac • 20 Enhanced Processing conversions per month for the hardest academic PDFs (credit packs available: 10 for $4.99, 50 for $19.99, never expire) • Cloud sync, export, priority processing, priority support PRIVACY Your books stay on your device. On-device processing handles EPUBs, text files, and standard PDFs. Enhanced Processing is opt-in, for complex academic PDFs that benefit from server-side extraction. Cloud sync is encrypted in transit and at rest. No ads, no data sales, no tracking of what you read. SUBSCRIPTION TERMS Velo Pro is a subscription. The 7-day free trial starts when you begin the trial. After the trial, Velo Pro auto-renews at $69.99/year or $8.99/month until cancelled. Cancel anytime in Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions. Payment is charged to your Apple ID. Subscription auto-renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Terms of Use: https://veloreader.com/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://veloreader.com/privacy.html

About

Reads.

Features
Read full description

Reads. is a quiet EPUB reader, made for the simple joy of reading. Built for people who love books — the ones who read in bed, in cafés, on commutes, on rainy afternoons. The ones who turn pages slowly, who care about typography, who want their reading time to feel like reading time. — A QUIET PLACE TO READ — No store. No ads. No notifications begging for your attention. Just you and the book. — BEAUTIFUL TYPOGRAPHY — Three carefully chosen serif fonts: Literata, Lora, EB Garamond. Each selected for one purpose — long, comfortable reading. — FOUR THEMES FOR EVERY LIGHT — - Paper — warm and gentle, like an old book - Pure White — crisp and modern - Sepia — easy on the eyes for long sessions - Night — quiet for late hours — THE LITTLE THINGS THAT MATTER — Highlight passages in four colors. Add notes that stay with the page. Bookmark where you left off. Search inside any book. The simple tools, done right. — PDF SUPPORT TOO — Reads. opens PDFs as well — research papers, technical documents, anything you bring. Reading-first, always. — PRIVACY-FIRST, ALWAYS — Your books, your highlights, your notes — they never leave your device. No cloud sync by default. No tracking. No analytics on what you read. Reads. respects that reading is private. — OPEN FORMATS — EPUB (W3C standard) and PDF (ISO 32000) — the formats publishers, libraries, and indie authors actually use. No DRM. Your books are yours. — FREE TO TRY — 14 days of every premium feature, no credit card. Then choose: - Annual: $19.99/year (with Apple's 14-day free trial) - Lifetime: $59.99 once, no recurring Pay once, read forever — for those tired of subscription fatigue. — FOR THE BOOKS YOU BRING — Most reading apps want to sell you books. Reads. just wants to read them with you. The EPUB you've been meaning to start. The one you're halfway through. The one you re-read every winter. They live on your device, not in someone else's cloud. Reads. is for the books you bring, not the books you buy. App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6764821898 Privacy Policy: https://ahmetklck.github.io/reads-privacy/privacy-policy.html Support: readsapp.support@gmail.com

Screenshots

Velo4 screens
Reads.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Reads. at daily against Velo's every 3 weeks. Reads. also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Velo sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month and Reads. sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Velo ships an update every 3 weeks, Reads. daily. Both last shipped on November 9, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Velo versus Reads.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVeloReads.
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPleroma Labs LLCAhmet KILCIK

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Velo

Subscriptions2
  • Velo Pro (Monthly)7 Days trial$8.991 Month
  • Velo Pro (Annual)7 Days trial$69.991 Year
One-time2
  • 10 Enhanced Processing Credits$4.99
  • 50 Enhanced Processing Credits$19.99
2 purchases

Reads.

Subscriptions1
  • Annual14 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$59.99

Questions

Is Velo free?
Velo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Reads. free?
Reads. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Velo or Reads. have ads?
Neither Velo nor Reads. shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Velo or Reads.?
Velo ships an update every 3 weeks, and Reads. daily. Most recently, Velo was updated on November 9, 2026 and Reads. on November 9, 2026.

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