Afterglow vs Reed
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Afterglow
Experience ebooks with a personalized ambiance. This reader intelligently creates unique themes from book cover art, offering a clean interface with customizable typography and layout for comfortable reading.
- Ebook reading interface
- Cover Tone themes
- Custom ambiance per book
- Typography controls
- Layout controls
- Light and dark modes
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A beautiful way to read ebooks. With Afterglow, give each book it's own ambience with Cover Tone themes, intelligently created from the book's cover art. Key features • Ebook reading with a clean, focused interface • Custom ambience for each book • Typography and layout controls for comfort and style • Light and dark reading options
Reed
This app enhances reading speed by displaying text one word at a time, highlighting key letters to improve focus and flow. It allows users to import their own documents and customize the reading experience with various themes and settings.
- RSVP speed reading technique
- Import EPUB, PDF, TXT files
- Customizable themes and fonts
- Offline functionality
- Hands-free reading mode
- Word-by-word scrubbing
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Reed helps you read books faster. It shows text one word at a time, right where your eyes already rest, with the key letter highlighted – the RSVP technique (Rapid Serial Visual Presentation) – so you stop dragging your eyes across lines and start reading in a flow. And unlike most speed readers, Reed never paywalls your own content. Import your EPUBs, PDFs and text files for free, and read them your way. EASIEST SPEED READING - One word at a time, with the optimal focal letter marked - 2 modes: Hold-to-read & hands-free - Set your speed (WPM) with a smooth warm-up ramp - Swipe to scrub back and forth, word by word YOUR LIBRARY, YOUR FILES - Import EPUB, PDF and TXT, or paste any text - Share files straight into Reed from other apps - Everything stays on your device TWO WAYS TO READ - Speed reader for flow - Classic reader that keeps EPUB formatting, images and chapters – plus a native PDF view with a paper page-curl MAKE IT YOURS - 14+ color palettes, custom themes and imported fonts, dark and light - Fine-tune the on-screen word position - Highlights and bookmarks with a list to jump back - Search inside any document - Per-document filters to strip repeating headers and page numbers - Gentle eye-rest reminders No accounts. No ads. No analytics. No tracking. Reed works fully offline and never sends your reading anywhere. Free to download. Free to import. Just read — faster.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Reed at 17.0 against Afterglow's 26.4. On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Afterglow against 5.0 for Reed. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively.
| Parameter | Afterglow | Reed |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.4 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mohammad Qureshi | Gaidar Aliev |
In-app purchases
Afterglow
No in-app purchases
Reed
No in-app purchases
