Comparison

Rishi Reader vs Lu 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

Lu Reader

This application offers a streamlined reading experience for various document and e-book formats, including EPUB and PDF. It features customizable reading settings, text-to-speech functionality, and smart library management. Users can back up their data to Google Drive.

Highlights
  • Supports EPUB, PDF, TXT, DOC, FB2, HWP, ZIP, CBZ
  • 11 customizable color themes
  • Adjustable font size, line spacing, and margins
  • In-app brightness control
  • Text-to-speech with adjustable speed
  • Automatic table of contents generation
  • Smart library with sorting and search
Features
Read full description

Lu Reader is a fast, clean, all-in-one reader for your documents and e-books - with no clutter and no sign-up required. SUPPORTED FORMATS - Text and e-books: TXT, EPUB, PDF, FB2, DOC, DOCX, HWP, HWPX - Archives containing text files: ZIP, CBZ COMFORTABLE READING - 11 color themes (cream, sepia, mint, black, navy and more) - Fine-tune font size, line spacing and margins - In-app brightness control for reading in the dark - Keep-screen-on, screen rotation and immersive full-screen mode VOICE READING (TTS) - Listen to any text with the current sentence highlighted - Adjustable speed from 0.6x to 2.0x - Choose from voices installed on your device - Sleep timer to stop automatically AUTOMATIC TABLE OF CONTENTS - Builds a chapter list even for plain TXT files - Detects multilingual chapter patterns - Jumps to and highlights the current chapter SMART LIBRARY - Add files from the Files app or the in-app file browser - Reading progress percentage and progress bar - Sort by name, date or progress, and search by filename - Bookmark your position; select a word for dictionary and translation - Auto-scroll and in-text search BACKUP & RESTORE - Safely back up your books, reading positions, bookmarks and settings to your own Google Drive - Restore everything on a new device Lu Reader keeps the focus on reading. Download it and enjoy your library, your way.

Screenshots

Rishi Reader4 screens
Lu Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Lu Reader at none against Rishi Reader's 8. Lu Reader also leads on iOS requirement (15.5 vs 18.4). Rishi Reader's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and device support (4 vs 2). On price and update cadence 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. Lu Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Rishi Reader ships an update every 5 days, Lu Reader every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences Β· 4 level
Rishi Reader versus Lu Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRishi ReaderLu Reader
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviewsβ€”100.0% of reviews
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 4 days β€” better
AdsNo β€” betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo β€” better
Monetizationβ€”Ad-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch β€” betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.415.5 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size123 MB95 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFarid Matovusanghun jeong

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
None

Lu Reader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Rishi Reader free?
Rishi Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lu Reader free?
Lu Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Rishi Reader or Lu Reader have ads?
Lu Reader shows ads; Rishi Reader does not.
Which is updated more often, Rishi Reader or Lu Reader?
Rishi Reader ships an update every 5 days, and Lu Reader every 4 days. Most recently, Rishi Reader was updated on October 13, 2026 and Lu Reader on October 7, 2026.

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