Sona Reader vs Mimesa
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sona Reader
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Welcome to your favourite reading app. Read books by your favourite African and international authors, and add your own to build your library, all in one reader. Annotate your pages, hit your reading goals, and read on any device. With a Sọna account, you can also read your own books in your browser. A LIBRARY THAT FOLLOWS YOU Your books, place, bookmarks, highlights and notes sync across your phone and tablet. Import your own EPUBs and PDFs and read them next to your Sọna books. Sort your shelves into collections and keep a wishlist for what you want next. MARK UP EVERY PAGE - Highlight in nine colours, with shades made for each reader theme - Attach a note to the exact passage you selected - React to a passage with a private emoji that sits in the margin, and pick your five favourites - Find every saved passage again in From Your Pages on Home, and tap one to open the book at that spot A READING YEAR YOU CAN SEE - Set a yearly reading goal and track it, with confetti when you pass it - Keep a daily reading streak - See your monthly Sọna Chapters and your Sọna Wrapped READ YOUR WAY - Light, sepia, dark and black themes - Your own font, text size and spacing - Picture Books, PDFs and EPUBs, all in one reader FIND YOUR NEXT BOOK - More to Read suggests books from what you have been reading - Discover new books and free reads - Follow your favourite authors and see who you follow, any time eARC HUB - Request advance copies from authors, read them early, and leave reviews, all from your phone.
Mimesa
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Mimesa is a reading and listening app built for people who want to read more, but don’t always have the time to sit down with a book. Explore a huge library of public-domain classics, listen to human-narrated audiobooks from LibriVox, or upload your own EPUBs and PDFs to read or turn into audio with AI narration. Whether you’re commuting, walking, studying, relaxing, or trying to finally finish that book you started months ago, Mimesa lets you switch between reading and listening whenever you need. READ AND LISTEN IN ONE APP Mimesa combines an ebook reader, audiobook player, and AI narration tool into one simple library. You can: • Browse 77,000+ public-domain books • Listen to 22,000+ LibriVox human audiobooks • Read EPUBs and PDFs on your phone • Generate AI narration for supported documents • Follow along with text while listening • Build your own personal reading library • Pick up where you left off across books and audio CLASSIC BOOKS, MADE EASIER TO FINISH Mimesa is especially useful for classic literature and public-domain books. Discover authors like Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Oscar Wilde, Mary Shelley, Mark Twain, and many more. Instead of choosing between reading and listening, you can do both. Start reading at home, continue listening while walking, then return to the text later. HUMAN AUDIOBOOKS FROM LIBRIVOX For thousands of classics, Mimesa includes human-narrated audiobook recordings from LibriVox volunteers. Listen to public-domain audiobooks directly inside the app with a clean, simple player designed for long-form listening. AI NARRATION FOR EPUBS AND PDFs Have a document you want to listen to? Upload supported EPUB or PDF files and use AI narration to turn text into audio for personal listening. This is useful for books, essays, notes, study material, long documents, and other readable files. Your uploaded documents are for your personal use inside your own library. BUILT FOR READING MORE Mimesa is designed around one simple goal: helping you spend more time with books. Use it when you want to: • Read classic literature • Listen to audiobooks • Turn documents into audio • Follow along while listening • Study while commuting • Replace endless scrolling with books • Keep your reading and listening in one place WHY MIMESA? Most reading apps focus only on ebooks. Most audiobook apps focus only on audio. Mimesa brings both together. It gives you public-domain books, human audiobooks, AI narration, EPUB/PDF support, and a clean reading experience in one app. Read when you can. Listen when you can’t. Download Mimesa and start building your reading habit today. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.mimesa.org/docs/eula Privacy Policy: https://www.mimesa.org/docs/privacy-policy Terms of Service: https://www.mimesa.org/docs/terms-of-service Support: armaaxs.com/me | armaan@armaaxs.com
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Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Mimesa at 15.1 against Sona Reader's 18.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Sona Reader ships an update every 2 weeks, Mimesa every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sona Reader | Mimesa |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 39 MB | 54 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Sona Books Limited | Purple Softworks (Pty) Ltd |
In-app purchases
Sona Reader
No in-app purchases
Mimesa
No in-app purchases









