Comparison

Parallèle Reader vs iLib

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

Head to head
About

Parallèle Reader

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Read the books you love - and, whenever you like, read them in two languages, side by side. Parallèle Reader is a calm, aesthetic everyday reader for your books. It also has a language companion built in: open a book in its original language and a clean translation appears right beside it - there when you need it, out of the way when you don't. FEATURES - Read your own EPUB, PDF, and text files (five timeless classics included free, in their original languages) - Side-by-side bilingual reading in split screen — original and translation, page by page - Translate offline with Apple's on-device engine — no internet needed once your languages are downloaded, or connect your own DeepL key - Hide the translation and reveal it with a tap to test yourself - Long-press any word or passage to look it up, highlight it, add a note, or save it - A personal vocabulary that builds as you read — export it as a TSV file - Highlight in five colors, add notes, and bookmark pages — all organized by book - Reading stats with a heatmap that turns your daily progress into a streak — minutes read, books finished, and more - iCloud sync keeps your reading position, highlights, and vocabulary together across iPhone and iPad - Collections and smart shelves for Favorites and Finished, plus search by title, author, or language - Four reading themes (Warm Paper, Sepia, Light, Dark) - Classic serif fonts, adjustable size, spacing, and margins, and a focus mode WHO IT'S FOR You just love reading — a distraction-free reader for your own library, with stats that make the habit stick. Language learners — read authentic books instead of exercises; reading in context teaches what flashcards can't. Heritage and bilingual readers — move freely between both your languages on every page. Anyone after a book that was never translated for sale — read the original with a translation alongside. HOW IT WORKS Open one of the included classics, or import your own EPUB, PDF, or text file. In split screen, the original and a clean translation appear side by side, page by page — on your device with Apple Translate, or through your own DeepL key. Long-press a word or passage to look it up, highlight it, add a note, or save it to your vocabulary. Prefer to test yourself? Hide the translation and reveal it with a tap. PRICING Try Parallèle Reader free for 7 days. After the trial, a single one-time purchase unlocks the full app. PRIVACY Your reading stays private. iCloud sync is optional and connects only your own devices through your Apple ID — your reading habits never reach our servers. Translate entirely on-device with Apple Translate, and if you add a DeepL key, it's stored securely on your device. Whether you're rereading an old favorite or finally reading that novel in its original language, Parallèle Reader makes reading feel good — and quietly makes you better at it.

About

iLib

Features
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iLib is your pocket library — one beautiful app for everything you read, hear, and study. Read on the web, on your iPhone and iPad, and on macOS — with more platforms on the way; sign in and your library, reading progress, notes and vocabulary sync across every device. ONE LIBRARY FOR EVERYTHING Books, comics, web novels, audiobooks, podcasts, radio and news — all in one place. Stream a massive global catalog of podcasts and live radio stations from countries and languages around the world, follow world news as it happens, and discover millions of free titles from public catalogs — or bring your own files. OPENS ALMOST ANYTHING • E-books: EPUB, MOBI, AZW, AZW3, FB2, FBZ • Documents: PDF • Text: TXT, Markdown • Comics: CBZ, CBR, CB7 • Audiobooks: MP3, M4A, M4B, AAC, OGG, OPUS, FLAC, WAV — with chapters and cover art And with Send to iLib, paste any web article and it becomes a clean, readable book in your library. A SERIOUS READER A fast, beautiful reader with full typography control, highlights, notes, bookmarks and a calm dark mode. Open two books side by side — each keeps its own position, settings and translation — and read right-to-left and vertical scripts with ease. LISTENING IS READING TOO Sentence-level text-to-speech with synced highlighting, plus audiobooks, podcasts and read-along. Keep going with your ears when your eyes need a break. LUMI, YOUR AI READING PARTNER Ask questions about the book you're reading, get hard passages explained, and summarize chapters — grounded in the text in front of you. Use on-device models or bring your own key. TRANSLATE ANYTHING Translate a word, a passage, or an entire book across multiple engines — with optional, higher-quality AI translation when you want it. The interface itself is localized in 33 languages. EXPORT AND TAKE YOUR BOOKS WITH YOU Export any book as the original file, a fully translated edition, or a bilingual side-by-side EPUB — generated right on your device. LEARN AS YOU READ Tap any word to look it up, build your vocabulary, and review with spaced repetition and leveled reading. Import your existing word lists. YOURS, AND PRIVATE Local-first and offline-ready — your library lives on your device. Sign in to sync across every device. Your third-party credentials are end-to-end encrypted. No ads, no tracking. Start reading at web.ilib.ai or right here on your iPhone and iPad.

Screenshots

Parallèle Reader4 screens
iLib4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: iLib at none against Parallèle Reader's 1. iLib also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months) and device support (4 vs 2). On price 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Parallèle Reader sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. iLib asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Parallèle Reader ships an update every 3 months, iLib fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 2 level
Parallèle Reader versus iLib: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterParallèle ReaderiLib
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.614.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB60 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperTemirlan AbdyldaevQianye (hubei Province) Education Technology Co., Ltd

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Parallèle Reader

One-time1
  • Unlock Parallèle Reader$9.99
None

iLib

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Parallèle Reader free?
Parallèle Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is iLib free?
iLib is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Parallèle Reader or iLib have ads?
Neither Parallèle Reader nor iLib shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Parallèle Reader or iLib?
Parallèle Reader ships an update every 3 months, and iLib fortnightly. Most recently, Parallèle Reader was updated on September 22, 2026 and iLib on September 10, 2026.

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