Comparison

BookWave vs Aura

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

Head to head
About

BookWave

Features
Read full description

BookWave is a simple, beautiful way to read and listen to EPUBs, PDFs, and scanned book pages—no accounts, no clutter, just your books. IMPORT OR SCAN YOUR BOOKS Add any DRM-free EPUB or PDF to BookWave, and it appears on your shelf in seconds. You can also scan pages from a printed book, turn them into text, and create your own EPUB. Your library is yours: organize books into folders and keep everything in one place. LISTEN TO ANY BOOK BookWave reads your books aloud with natural-sounding voices, entirely on your device. When available, words are highlighted as they’re spoken, so you can follow along or switch between reading and listening anytime. Playback continues in the background, so you can listen while walking, commuting, or with the screen off. EVERYTHING STAYS IN SYNC Your library, reading progress, highlights, and bookmarks sync privately between your iPhone and iPad through iCloud. Start reading a chapter on one device and continue from exactly where you left off on another. No registration, no accounts, no third-party servers. SAVE WHAT MATTERS Save important passages as highlights. Your highlights and bookmarks stay with the book across all your devices. TRACK YOUR READING See how much you read and listen each day, and watch your reading habit grow. 20 CLASSICS INCLUDED Start reading right away with a free built-in library of classic EPUB books—including Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Around the World in Eighty Days, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, and many more. PRIVATE BY DESIGN BookWave has no accounts and no tracking. Your books and reading data live on your device and in your personal iCloud—nowhere else. BOOKWAVE PRO Reading and importing books are free, and you can listen to every built-in classic at no cost. BookWave Pro unlocks listening for your imported EPUB and PDF books, along with detailed reading statistics. Monthly and yearly auto-renewable subscriptions are available. Each includes a one-week free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription anytime in your Apple Account settings. Privacy Policy: https://minimapps.github.io/bookwave/privacy-policy.html Terms of Use: https://minimapps.github.io/bookwave/terms.html

About

Aura

Features
Read full description

Turn documents into a private listening experience with Aura. Import text, TXT, EPUB, DOCX and text-based PDFs, then listen with clear on-device speech. Aura keeps your documents and generated audio on your iPhone or iPad. After you download the speech model and a voice, you can listen without a connection. READ YOUR WAY • Import files, paste text, or share documents to Aura from other apps • Continue from your saved place, with sentence-by-sentence follow-along • Play, pause, skip sentences and choose a comfortable speed • Keep listening with the screen locked, with Lock Screen controls • Choose from the available voices and narration languages • Save a narration as an M4A audio file WORK WITH TEXT IN MORE WAYS • Take or pick a photo and turn the printed text into something you can hear • Translate text on your device after downloading the language • Six reading themes and adjustable font, size and spacing • Use Aura in English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Korean, Swedish or Danish PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your document text, filenames, reading position and generated audio stay in Aura's private storage on your device. Aura does not use a cloud text-to-speech service. Downloading the speech model, voices and optional languages needs an internet connection. The free version shows ads and limits listening time, library size and export. Aura Pro removes ads and unlocks every voice, EPUB import, offline translation, unlimited listening and export, and an unlimited library. Pro is available monthly, yearly or as a one-time lifetime purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period, and can be managed in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

BookWave4 screens
Aura4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: BookWave at none against Aura's shown. On price, update cadence, 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. BookWave sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Aura sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BookWave ships an update every 6 days, Aura every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
BookWave versus Aura: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookWaveAura
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 10 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB80 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperNazarii StefaniukMohamed Ali Masmoudi

In-app purchases

2 purchases

BookWave

Subscriptions2
  • BookWave Pro Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • BookWave Pro Yearly7 Days trial$24.991 Year
3 purchases

Aura

Subscriptions2
  • Aura Pro Monthly7 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Aura Pro Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Aura Pro Lifetime$59.99

Questions

Is BookWave free?
BookWave is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Aura free?
Aura is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do BookWave or Aura have ads?
Aura shows ads; BookWave does not.
Which is updated more often, BookWave or Aura?
BookWave ships an update every 6 days, and Aura every 10 days. Most recently, BookWave was updated on October 25, 2026 and Aura on November 6, 2026.

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