Comparison

Rishi Reader vs Bare Reader

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

Head to head
About

Rishi Reader

Features
Read full description

Rishi turns the books on your devices into conversations. Read your EPUB and PDF library on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, then ask questions, get summaries, or talk through a passage out loud β€” all without leaving the page. Bring your own books. Drop EPUB or PDF files into Rishi and they live in a fast, searchable library with covers, progress, and a Reading Now shelf. Highlights and notes follow you across devices. Read the way you like. A focused, customizable reader handles fixed-layout and reflowable EPUBs, scanned PDFs with a real text layer, and table-of-contents jumps. Pick light, dark, or sepia. Adjust font size and spacing. Search every page. Pick up where you left off. Open a book on your Mac, keep reading on iPhone on the train, finish on iPad in bed β€” Rishi syncs your position, highlights, and notes in the background using silent push. Chat with any book. Ask "what does this chapter argue?" or "summarize this scene," and Rishi answers grounded in the book you're reading. Conversations are saved per-book and per-session, so you can come back to the thread later. Talk it through. Real-time voice chat lets you have a natural spoken conversation about what you’re reading β€” ideal for studying, language practice, or thinking out loud on a walk. Voice chat and premium narration require an active Apple subscription. Read aloud. Start foreground narration from the open book with a configurable voice and sentence-level highlighting. Follow along on the page while Rishi is open. Made for Apple silicon. Optimized for Mac Catalyst with a real sidebar, full keyboard navigation, native menus, and scene restoration. Universal Links open books straight from Safari, Mail, or Messages. Accessible by default. VoiceOver labels across the reader, library, and chat. Full Dynamic Type support. AA contrast on every surface. Reduce Motion and Increase Contrast respected. Private by design. Sign in with Apple β€” no password to manage, no email required. Your reading data lives in your account, not in an ad network. Anonymous diagnostics can be turned off in Settings. Pro features (subscription). Voice chat, unlimited chat conversations, and premium narration voices are available through an Apple subscription purchased in Rishi. Use the in-app purchase sheet to subscribe, Restore Purchases to recover an existing subscription, or Settings to open Apple's subscription management sheet. Terms of Use: https://rishi.fidexa.org/terms. Subscription Terms: https://rishi.fidexa.org/legal/subscription-terms

About

Bare Reader

Features
Read full description

Bare Reader is a calm, distraction-free way to read your EPUB books on iPhone. No accounts. No ads. No sync nags. No feed pulling you away from the page. Just your library and your books β€” stored privately on your device. Less than 5MB in size, Bare Reader is as lightweight as it gets. READING, THE WAY IT SHOULD FEEL Open a book and everything else disappears. A clean, paginated reading view lets you move through pages the way that feels natural to you: swipe, tap the edges, or use the on-screen page buttons. PRIVATE BY DESIGN LeafReader works entirely offline. Your books and your reading never leave your device: there's no account to create and no data collected. What you read is nobody's business but yours. Bring your own EPUBs and enjoy a reader that gets out of the way. Bare Reader is completely free to use. If you enjoy the app, you can optionally purchase a one-time license to remove the occasional support reminder. Purchasing doesn't unlock anything or change how the app works; it's simply a way to support ongoing development.

Screenshots

Rishi Reader4 screens
Bare Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Rishi Reader at 4 against Bare Reader's 2. Bare Reader's advantage is iOS requirement (16.6 vs 18.4). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Rishi Reader sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and Bare Reader sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 4 level
Rishi Reader versus Bare Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRishi ReaderBare Reader
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch β€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.416.6 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size123 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFarid MatovuNathaniel Rayestu Abdulrachman

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Rishi Reader

Subscriptions8
  • Reader Monthly$7.991 Month
  • Rishi Reader Monthly$7.991 Month
  • Voice Monthly$14.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Rishi Voice Monthly$14.991 Month
  • Reader Annual$76.991 Year
  • Rishi Reader Annual$79.991 Year
  • Rishi Voice Annual$99.991 Year
  • Voice Annual$143.991 Year
1 purchases

Bare Reader

One-time1
  • Support Development$1.99

Questions

Is Rishi Reader free?
Rishi Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bare Reader free?
Bare Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Rishi Reader or Bare Reader have ads?
Neither Rishi Reader nor Bare Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Rishi Reader or Bare Reader?
Rishi Reader ships an update every 5 days, and Bare Reader every 5 days. Most recently, Rishi Reader was updated on September 27, 2026 and Bare Reader on October 9, 2026.

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