Comparison

Dear Reader vs LeafWave

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

Head to head
About

Dear Reader

Read full description

Dear Reader is a quiet reading reflection journal for people who want to remember books by what they made them think, not by how many pages they finished. You do not need to complete a book to keep something meaningful from it. One sentence that stopped you, and one thought in your own words, can be enough. Dear Reader helps you save that moment as a discovery and revisit it later. ■ One sentence, one thought Save a sentence from a book and add the thought it sparked. The original sentence and your reflection stay together on one discovery card. ■ Reading without completion pressure Dear Reader is not built around finished books, page counts, timers, or productivity goals. It is built around the small moments when a book makes you pause. ■ Prompts when the blank page feels hard Gentle prompts and quick reaction chips help you begin your reflection. You can write a sentence, a paragraph, or just enough to remember why the moment mattered. ■ Revisit what you saved A saved sentence can meet you again later. Return to past discoveries and notice how the same words feel different with time. ■ A bookshelf shaped by discoveries Your bookshelf is not only a list of books. It quietly shows the thoughts and discoveries each book left behind. ■ Connect reflections across books Use tags to find discoveries that share a theme, even when they came from different books. Over time, scattered sentences begin to show the shape of your thinking. ■ A private, local-first space Dear Reader starts without an app account. Your sentences, thoughts, books, and settings are stored primarily on your device. There is no public feed, follower count, or reading competition. Dear Reader is for readers who: - save good sentences but rarely return to them - want a reading journal without writing long entries every day - care more about reflection than finishing more books - want to keep book sentences and personal thoughts together - prefer a calm private space over a social reading feed Keep what books made you think. One sentence and one thought can become a reading habit that lasts.

About

LeafWave

This app allows you to read and listen to books and documents, offering customizable reading experiences and on-device narration. It supports various file formats and provides tools for annotation and sharing, with a strong focus on user privacy.

Highlights
  • Import EPUB, PDF, text, and more
  • Switch between visual reading and narration
  • On-device narration for privacy and offline use
  • Adjustable text size, spacing, and themes
  • Add bookmarks and highlights
  • Export annotated documents
  • Access free public-domain titles
Features
Read full description

LeafWave helps you read with your eyes, listen at your pace, and keep your place across long books and documents. Import EPUB, PDF, text, RTF, HTML, and Markdown files, then switch naturally between visual reading and narration. LeafWave’s bundled neural voices run on your iPhone or iPad, so your document text stays private and narration works offline. Apple system voices remain available too. READ YOUR WAY • Adjust text size, spacing, theme, and reading layout • Move by chapter, page, paragraph, or book progress • Resume from your saved reading or listening position • Browse more than 75,000 free public-domain titles from Project Gutenberg LISTEN ANYWHERE • Expressive on-device narration with multiple voice styles • Automatic language detection and narration across 31 languages with Premium • Background and lock-screen playback with system media controls • Adjustable narration speed and generated-audio continuity • Teach LeafWave how to pronounce names and tricky words with Premium MARK UP AND SHARE • Add bookmarks and highlights • Attach comments to exact passages • Export annotated PDFs, embedded PDF annotations, or an editable LeafWave Review Package PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No LeafWave account, advertising, analytics, or tracking • Narration and document analysis happen on-device • Optional iCloud sync is off by default and uses your private iCloud account • Imported documents remain local unless you enable sync or share an export LeafWave includes a 14-day Premium trial. After the trial, visual reading, bookmarks, Apple system narration, two natural voice styles, five narration languages (English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and German), and a five-book library remain available. Premium unlocks all ten natural voice styles, all 31 narration languages, unlimited books, Teach LeafWave, highlights, comments, annotated exports, and optional iCloud sync. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled in App Store account settings. Lifetime Premium is a one-time purchase. Terms of Use (Apple Standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Dear Reader4 screens
LeafWave4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: LeafWave at none against Dear Reader's shown. LeafWave also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 9 days). On price, in-app purchases, device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dear Reader ships an update every 9 days, LeafWave every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Dear Reader versus LeafWave: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDear ReaderLeafWave
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB266 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperMoonsun YangSamik Banerjee

In-app purchases

None

Dear Reader

No in-app purchases

None

LeafWave

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Dear Reader free?
Dear Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is LeafWave free?
LeafWave is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Dear Reader or LeafWave have ads?
Dear Reader shows ads; LeafWave does not.
Which is updated more often, Dear Reader or LeafWave?
Dear Reader ships an update every 9 days, and LeafWave every 4 days. Most recently, Dear Reader was updated on November 5, 2026 and LeafWave on October 31, 2026.

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