Comparison

Cleave for EPUB vs iRead

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

Head to head
About

Cleave for EPUB

This app helps organize your EPUB book collection by automatically cleaning and enriching metadata like titles, authors, and descriptions. It allows for custom renaming and directory structuring, all processed on your device for maximum privacy.

Highlights
  • Auto-clean EPUB metadata
  • Web enrichment for book details
  • Customizable cover selection
  • Remove source-watermark pages
  • Rename files by template
  • Organize into directory structures
  • Share sheet integration
  • Batch processing
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Cleave is an on-device EPUB metadata editor for iPhone and iPad. Drop a book in, and it cleans up the messy title, author, and publisher fields in seconds — no account, no uploads, no tracking. Designed for readers who sideload books onto a Kindle, a Boox, a Palma, a Kobo, or into KOReader and Calibre. If you've ever had a library full of files named "The_Book_(z-lib.org)_(1).epub" with title "The Book (z-lib.org) - Copy", Cleave fixes them. FEATURES • Auto-clean on load Strips source-site watermarks from title, author, and publisher. Normalizes author-name order ("Austen, Jane" → "Jane Austen" or vice versa). Cleans file junk like "(1)", " - copy", " final". All rules are configurable. • Web enrichment Fills missing description, publisher, date, ISBN, series, and subjects from Apple Books, Open Library, and optionally Google Books. Anonymous queries — no account, no identifier sent. • Cover picker Fetches candidate covers from Apple Books and Open Library in one tap. Pick one, revert anytime, or use your own image from Photos. • Source-watermark page stripping Detects and removes the one-page "downloaded from" ad pages that some redistributors inject. • Rename by template Rebuild filenames from {author}, {title}, {series}, {seriesIndex}, {year}. Presets: Default, Calibre, Year-suffix, Series-first, Title-only. • Directory structure Save directly into a Calibre-style Author/ subfolder if your reader expects it. • Share sheet integration Share any EPUB from Files, Safari, Mail, or another app — Cleave picks it up, cleans it, and hands it back for saving. • Batch support Drop a bunch of files at once. Cleave walks you through them one by one with a running counter. PRIVACY Cleave does not collect any personal data. There is no account, no backend, no analytics, and no advertising SDK. The only network requests are anonymous metadata/cover queries to three public APIs (Apple Books, Open Library, Google Books) — none of which receive any user identifier. File processing happens entirely on your device. Your books never leave your iPhone or iPad. For power users: a diagnostics screen shows the share-extension log, the App Group inbox, and all settings. Everything is editable. SUPPORT Questions, bug reports, feature requests: cleave-whidbey.vercel.app/support Privacy policy: cleave-whidbey.vercel.app/privacy Cleave is designed by a small team who sideload books every week. If it saves you ten minutes a month, it's doing its job.

About

iRead

This app reads your EPUB, TXT, and MOBI books aloud using natural-sounding voices. It works offline, supports background playback with screen lock, and offers multi-language support. You can also import your own books and customize the reading experience.

Highlights
  • Offline text-to-speech
  • Natural neural voices
  • Background playback
  • Multi-language support
  • Import books from Files/Wi-Fi
  • Customizable reading themes
  • Library management
Features
Read full description

iRead reads the books you already own out loud — natural voices, fully offline, no subscription. LISTEN TO YOUR OWN BOOKS • Natural neural voices read EPUB, TXT and MOBI aloud • Keeps playing in the background, with the screen locked • Lock screen and headphone controls, like a podcast • Voices in nine languages: English, Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese and Korean — each chapter is read in its own language automatically • Runs entirely on your phone — your text is never uploaded READ THEM TOO • Import from Files, the share sheet, or your computer over Wi-Fi • Light and dark themes, adjustable size and spacing • Shelf with covers, categories and reading progress • One backup file carries your library, progress and settings between devices GOOD TO KNOW • PDF opens for reading but cannot be read aloud — convert it to EPUB first (free converter at iread.gaiya.cc) • DRM-protected books, including Kindle and Apple Books purchases, cannot be opened • There is no store inside iRead. It never sells or ships books; it opens the ones you already have FREE AND PRO • Free: the whole reader, plus your device's built-in system voice • Pro: unlocks the natural neural voices. One-time purchase, yours forever • No subscription, no account, no ads, no tracking

Screenshots

Cleave for EPUB3 screens
iRead4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: iRead at Free against Cleave for EPUB's $1.99. Cleave for EPUB's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and chart position (#74 vs unranked). On rating, ratings volume, ads 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

iRead is free to download; Cleave for EPUB costs $1.99 up front. iRead sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Cleave for EPUB asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Cleave for EPUB against 5.0 for iRead. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 2 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Cleave for EPUB versus iRead: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCleave for EPUBiRead
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings22
Update frequency—Every 2 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
Best chart rank#74 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB46 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSamuel PainterShuhui Sheng

Customer experience

Cleave for EPUB

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

iRead

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Cleave for EPUB

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

iRead

One-time1
  • iRead Pro$11.99

Questions

Is Cleave for EPUB free?
Cleave for EPUB costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is iRead free?
iRead is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Cleave for EPUB or iRead?
Cleave for EPUB and iRead are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do Cleave for EPUB or iRead have ads?
Neither Cleave for EPUB nor iRead shows ads.

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