Comparison

Apogee Reader vs Auread

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

Auread

Features
Read full description

Auread turns your audiobooks into a read-along experience. It transcribes the narration right on your device and highlights each word in sync with the audio — so you can listen and follow the text at the same time. WHY AUREAD • BUILT-IN FREE CATALOG — Browse LibriVox public-domain audiobooks, download one, and Auread fetches the matching Gutenberg text automatically: a complete read-along in two taps. • LISTENING STATS — Daily goal ring, streaks, and a week / month / year dashboard. • REAL CHAPTERS — Titles and headings inside the text, start time and length in the chapter menu, chapter or book timing at a tap. • Real read-along — words light up as they’re spoken, with smooth auto-scroll. • On-device transcription — no ebook required; Auread generates the text itself, privately. • Your speed — 0.5×–2× with preserved pitch, saved per book or globally. • A reading view you’ll love — adjustable size, themes, progressive illumination, Dynamic Type. • Automatic covers for your library. • Import anything — audio files, ZIPs of MP3s, even EPUB text. Built-in conversion. • Works offline — listen and read anywhere. PRIVACY FIRST Auread has no account and no server. Your audio, text, transcripts and progress never leave your device. Transcription runs entirely on-device. The only network use is fetching public book covers (title + author), anonymously, and the free catalog when you use it. LANGUAGES Interface in English, French, Spanish and German. Transcription supports multiple languages. Built for audiobook lovers, language learners, and anyone who reads better while listening.

Screenshots

Apogee Reader4 screens
Auread4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Apogee Reader at weekly against Auread's every 3 weeks. Apogee Reader also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

Apogee Reader ships an update weekly, Auread every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Apogee Reader versus Auread: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterApogee ReaderAuread
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (6 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB5 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperBrian BanuagMehdi Maaref

In-app purchases

None

Apogee Reader

No in-app purchases

None

Auread

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Apogee Reader free?
Apogee Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Auread free?
Auread is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Apogee Reader or Auread have ads?
Neither Apogee Reader nor Auread shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Apogee Reader or Auread?
Apogee Reader ships an update weekly, and Auread every 3 weeks. Most recently, Apogee Reader was updated on October 28, 2026 and Auread on October 24, 2026.

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