Comparison

Last First Words vs Dear Reader

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

Head to head
About

Last First Words

Features
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Last First Words is a speed reader that streams text one word at a time, helping you stay focused, read faster, and move through more of what you want to read. Import books, PDFs, and web articles into one library, set reading goals, track your progress with reading stats, and customize the reading experience to match your preferences. Features One-word-at-a-time speed reading Import EPUBs, PDFs, and web articles Set reading goals and build momentum Track reading progress and stats Customize themes and reading preferences Adjust reading speed on the fly Play, pause, rewind, and skip ahead Save bookmarks

About

Dear Reader

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Dear Reader is a quiet reading reflection journal for people who want to remember books by what they made them think, not by how many pages they finished. You do not need to complete a book to keep something meaningful from it. One sentence that stopped you, and one thought in your own words, can be enough. Dear Reader helps you save that moment as a discovery and revisit it later. โ–  One sentence, one thought Save a sentence from a book and add the thought it sparked. The original sentence and your reflection stay together on one discovery card. โ–  Reading without completion pressure Dear Reader is not built around finished books, page counts, timers, or productivity goals. It is built around the small moments when a book makes you pause. โ–  Prompts when the blank page feels hard Gentle prompts and quick reaction chips help you begin your reflection. You can write a sentence, a paragraph, or just enough to remember why the moment mattered. โ–  Revisit what you saved A saved sentence can meet you again later. Return to past discoveries and notice how the same words feel different with time. โ–  A bookshelf shaped by discoveries Your bookshelf is not only a list of books. It quietly shows the thoughts and discoveries each book left behind. โ–  Connect reflections across books Use tags to find discoveries that share a theme, even when they came from different books. Over time, scattered sentences begin to show the shape of your thinking. โ–  A private, local-first space Dear Reader starts without an app account. Your sentences, thoughts, books, and settings are stored primarily on your device. There is no public feed, follower count, or reading competition. Dear Reader is for readers who: - save good sentences but rarely return to them - want a reading journal without writing long entries every day - care more about reflection than finishing more books - want to keep book sentences and personal thoughts together - prefer a calm private space over a social reading feed Keep what books made you think. One sentence and one thought can become a reading habit that lasts.

Screenshots

Last First Words3 screens
Dear Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Last First Words at none against Dear Reader's shown. Dear Reader's advantage is iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Last First Words versus Dear Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLast First WordsDear Reader
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyโ€”Every 9 days
AdsNo โ€” betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.018.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size11 MB51 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperLANDON COLE THORNTONMoonsun Yang

In-app purchases

None

Last First Words

No in-app purchases

None

Dear Reader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Last First Words free?
Last First Words is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dear Reader free?
Dear Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Last First Words or Dear Reader have ads?
Dear Reader shows ads; Last First Words does not.

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