Comparison

Timebound EPUB Reader vs OnlyText

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

Head to head
About

Timebound EPUB Reader

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Timebound is a focused reader for your own DRM-free EPUBs — and a library of thousands of free classics to fill it. Import the books you already have — from Files, iCloud Drive, or AirDrop — and read them in a calm, page-turning view built for long stretches. Or browse the built-in Project Gutenberg catalog and download complete, public-domain classics — Austen, Melville, Shelley, and thousands more — free and yours to keep. • Browse and search thousands of free public-domain books, and download them in a tap • Adjustable typography: typeface, size, margins, line spacing, and justified or left-aligned text • Light, sepia, and dark reading themes, or match the system • Turn pages or scroll continuously • Search the full text of any book • Table of contents and tap-to-resume — always back to your exact place • A tidy library with cover, list, and grid views • See your place as a percent, a book-wide position, or a chapter page No store, no accounts, no DRM — just a nicer place to read the books that are already yours. Books in the catalog are provided by Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.org). Timebound is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Project Gutenberg. Catalog browsing relies on Project Gutenberg's public service and may be unavailable at times or change in a future update; the reader and your own imported books always work regardless.

About

OnlyText

Features
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OnlyText is a reader that does one thing: show your plain-text files, ebooks and comics well. No ads, no subscription. • Read your files as they are Import TXT, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, AZW3, FB2, Markdown, DOCX, ODT, RTF, HTML and CBZ files—or whole folders—from the Files app, or drop them into the OnlyText folder in Files. Your folder structure is kept. Read PDFs as they are, or as text with your own font. EPUB images appear in the text, and covers show in your library. Finder on a Mac and the Apple Devices app on Windows work too. • Import from WebDAV and OPDS Add a WebDAV server—a NAS such as Synology or QNAP, Nextcloud or ownCloud—and download books or whole folders, or browse OPDS catalogs such as Calibre, Kavita and Komga. • Text that just works EUC-KR, Shift_JIS, GB18030, Big5, Windows-1252 and more are detected automatically. If text still looks wrong, switch the encoding or convert to UTF-8. • Markdown Headings, lists, tables and quotes look like a document, with highlighted code and Mermaid diagrams you can tap to enlarge. • Comics and scanned books Read CBZ and ZIP comics page by page; loose images are bundled into one comic when you import them, and right-to-left manga works too. Two-page spreads in scanned PDFs and comics are split down the middle, and margins are cropped automatically. Comics printed in black and white from color artwork look clearer with B&W Print Enhancement: white paper, black ink. • Make it yours Change the font, size, spacing, colors and margins, per book if you like. Fonts from your device or the Files app work too. Turn on justified text and hyphenation, and reading colors follow Dark Mode. On large screens or in landscape, read two pages side by side. • Turn pages your way Tap, swipe or use the volume buttons, with your own tap zones. Assign any button on a Bluetooth keyboard, page-turner remote or gamepad. Or scroll vertically, straight on into the next chapter. • Read aloud and auto reading Pick a voice and speed and follow the highlighted word as OnlyText reads aloud, even with the screen off, with controls on the Lock Screen and in Control Center. Or try Auto Page Turn, Word Highlight or One Word at a Time. • Pick up where you left off Recent books are on the first screen and in Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets. The last page opens the next book in the folder, and Shortcuts can turn pages. Reading Statistics show your time today and this week, your streak and a daily goal. • Search Search titles, authors, notes and the full text of every book. Inside a book, find a word and jump straight to it, or look up a word in the dictionary. • Bookmarks, highlights and notes Bookmark the page, or touch and hold text to save a passage. Saved passages are highlighted and collected with your bookmarks. Add notes, and export everything as Markdown or as a CSV for Readwise. • Book info and collections Rate and review books, add tags, genre, publisher and year, group them into collections, and browse by any of these. Move or delete several books at once. • Secret Folder and locked books Keep private books in the Secret Folder, opened only with Face ID or your passcode and hidden from recents and Browse. You can also lock a single book. • iCloud sync Reading positions, bookmarks, book info and view settings sync through iCloud across your devices. Import the same book on each one and pick up where you left off. Book files aren’t synced. • Apple Watch remote and bookmarks Turn pages on your iPhone from your Apple Watch with a tap, Double Tap or the Digital Crown, and see your bookmarks by book. • Private by design Book files stay on your device, synced data lives in your own iCloud account, and the developer collects no data. Read-aloud voices run on your device, and WebDAV and OPDS passwords stay in this device’s keychain. Use every feature free for 14 days—the trial never charges you. To keep reading after that, buy once.

Screenshots

Timebound EPUB Reader4 screens
OnlyText4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Timebound EPUB Reader at none against OnlyText's 4. OnlyText's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 days) and device support (4 vs 1). On price, ads and iOS requirement 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. OnlyText sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Timebound EPUB Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Timebound EPUB Reader ships an update every 5 days, OnlyText every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 3 level
Timebound EPUB Reader versus OnlyText: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTimebound EPUB ReaderOnlyText
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCow Cow Technologies LLCSTUDIOJIN

In-app purchases

None

Timebound EPUB Reader

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

OnlyText

One-time4
  • 14-day TrialFree
  • Full Version (Special Price)$1.00
  • OnlyText Full Version$4.00
Show 1 more
  • OnlyText Full Version (Sale)$4.00

Questions

Is Timebound EPUB Reader free?
Timebound EPUB Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is OnlyText free?
OnlyText is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Timebound EPUB Reader or OnlyText have ads?
Neither Timebound EPUB Reader nor OnlyText shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Timebound EPUB Reader or OnlyText?
Timebound EPUB Reader ships an update every 5 days, and OnlyText every 2 days. Most recently, Timebound EPUB Reader was updated on October 31, 2026 and OnlyText on October 29, 2026.

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