Comparison

Apogee Reader vs Sutra

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

Head to head
About

Apogee Reader

This native iOS reader connects to your self-hosted BookOrbit server, keeping your books private. It supports various ebook, audiobook, comic, and PDF formats, with features like synchronized progress, highlights, and offline access.

Highlights
  • Supports EPUB, MOBI, CBZ, CBR, CB7, and PDF formats
  • Audiobook playback with sleep timer and speed control
  • Comic reading in paged or webtoon mode
  • Synchronized reading progress across devices
  • Highlights and notes with server sync
  • Offline reading capabilities
  • Fanfic updates from Archive of Our Own
Features
Read full description

Apogee is a native iOS reader for a BookOrbit server you run yourself. Your books stay on your own machine, and there's no account to make beyond the one on your own server. It reads what your library holds: • Ebooks. EPUB and MOBI, with your choice of font, theme, margins and page flow. You can add your own font files from the Files app. • Audiobooks. Chapters, a sleep timer, playback speed, CarPlay and Lock Screen controls. • Comics. CBZ, CBR and CB7, in paged or webtoon mode. • PDFs, cropped to the text so the margins don't waste your screen. Read & Listen joins a book to its audiobook. Read a chapter on the train, then play the audiobook in the car and it starts where you stopped reading. While it plays, the sentence being read shows on screen. Your place is kept for every book and sent back to your server, so you can put the phone down and pick up on another device. It uses the same progress format as KOReader, so a Kindle running KOReader and this app stay in step. Your reading time goes to your server's reading log too, and on BookOrbit 3.0 and later it's marked as reading, listening or Read Aloud. Download a book and it works with no network at all. Your library, your place, your notes and your highlights are all there offline. It also does: • Highlights and notes, searchable, and synced to your server. • Sign in with your password, or with the sign-in provider your server uses. • Send a book from the Files app to your server's library. • Send books to a CrossPoint e-ink reader on your Wi-Fi. • Reading Stats, from your server's reading log. • Spotlight, so your books turn up in search from the home screen. • A widget for whatever you're part way through. • Read Aloud, using the voices already on your phone. • Series grouping, collections, and a filing rule for right-to-left manga. • Fanfic Updates, if you want it: sign in to Archive of Our Own and Apogee checks the works you follow and brings new chapters into your library. Apogee is an unofficial app, not made or endorsed by AO3 or the Organization for Transformative Works. • iPad layouts, not a stretched phone app. • Guides for every feature at apogeereader.app. Apogee talks to your server. It talks to AO3 only if you sign in to Fanfic Updates, and your audiobook notes sync through your own iCloud account. Nothing comes to me unless you choose to send it. Apogee needs a BookOrbit server to be useful. It isn't a shop. It doesn't sell, supply or recommend books. It reads the library you already have. Apogee is built by one person. It's free, with no ads, no in-app purchases and no tracking.

About

Sutra

Organize and read all your eBooks and comics in one beautiful, calm reader. Connect to self-hosted libraries, explore online catalogs, and customize your reading experience with various display options. Enjoy seamless progress syncing across devices.

Highlights
  • Unified reader for EPUB, PDF, CBZ, MOBI, comics, and manga
  • Connect to Kavita, Komga, Calibre, and OPDS servers
  • Customizable reading experience (fonts, themes, layout)
  • Organized library with Series and Collection views
  • Progress and finished-book sync across devices
  • Offline reading support for comics
Features
Read full description

Sutra is a warm, thoughtful home for every book and comic you love. Bring together your self-hosted library, your manga, your classic EPUBs, and those “just one more chapter” reads in one beautifully calm reader. Connect Kavita, Komga, or Calibre; explore any OPDS catalogue; or discover a new favourite from Project Gutenberg and Standard Ebooks. READ YOUR WAY • Enjoy EPUB, PDF, CBZ, MOBI, fixed-layout comics, and manga in one place • Move through comics panel by panel, or take in the whole page • Read right-to-left manga and beautiful iPad two-page spreads • Make the page yours with fonts, text size, spacing, themes, auto-scroll, page turns, and Sutra-only brightness control A LIBRARY THAT FEELS LIKE HOME • Browse dedicated Series and Collection views, with Favorites always close by • Sort by Recently Read, Title, Author, or Date Added while staying in a familiar cover grid • Let Sutra recover missing Calibre series details and keep your library beautifully organised • Pick up where you left off with dependable progress and finished-book sync for Kavita and Komga BUILT FOR SELF-HOSTERS • Connect Kavita, Komga, Calibre, Grimmory, or another OPDS server • Stream comic pages from Kavita and Komga when available, or download for offline reading • Keep your highlights and reading progress with you across your Apple devices Sutra is free to enjoy for EPUB and PDF reading, with no ads and no subscription. Unlock unlimited CBZ, MOBI, and Komga reading once, and keep it forever.

Screenshots

Apogee Reader4 screens
Sutra4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Apogee Reader at none against Sutra's 4. Sutra's advantage is review sentiment (73% vs 50%). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Sutra sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Apogee Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Apogee Reader against 4.3 for Sutra. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 18 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of Apogee Reader's written reviews are positive against 73% of Sutra's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Apogee Reader ships an update weekly, Sutra every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Apogee Reader versus Sutra: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterApogee ReaderSutra
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (7 ratings) — better4.3 (18 ratings)
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews73.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings718 — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 8 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB42 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperBrian BanuagKoustav Dasgupta

Customer experience

Apogee Reader

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Sutra

All ratings18 ratings
Positive77.8%
Neutral16.7%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive73.3%
Neutral13.3%
Negative13.3%

In-app purchases

None

Apogee Reader

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Sutra

One-time4
  • Small Tip$1.99
  • Medium Tip$2.99
  • Large Tip$4.99
Show 1 more
  • Sutra Pro$6.99

Questions

Is Apogee Reader free?
Apogee Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sutra free?
Sutra is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Apogee Reader or Sutra?
Apogee Reader is rated higher. Apogee Reader averages 4.4 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Sutra averages 4.3 from 18 ratings.
Do Apogee Reader or Sutra have ads?
Neither Apogee Reader nor Sutra shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Apogee Reader or Sutra?
Apogee Reader ships an update weekly, and Sutra every 8 days. Most recently, Apogee Reader was updated on November 5, 2026 and Sutra on November 7, 2026.

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