Comparison

Auren vs MagicReader

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

Head to head
About

Auren

Features
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Auren turns books, documents, and saved pages into speech. Choose about 75 minutes of Auren Premium Voice each month or 15 hours each year. The annual allowance starts when an eligible free trial begins. Apple voices remain unlimited. You can also download Auren's on-device Kokoro voice pack, try the experimental Supertonic 3 voice pack, or paste an existing xAI, OpenAI, or Google developer API key for optional cloud voices. Build a listening library from printed pages, photos, pasted text, PDFs, EPUBs, text files, web links, and audio transcripts. Open any item, tap a paragraph to start listening, and follow the text as Auren reads. Auren also includes a maintained catalog of U.S. public-domain editions sourced from Standard Ebooks and a Discover feed limited to written articles from approved sources with a documented sharing basis. Other websites can be imported by link or followed through a personal RSS feed. With Auren, you can: - Listen with Apple voices available on your device - Use Auren Premium Voice, about 75 minutes each month or 15 hours each year - Download the recommended Kokoro on-device voice pack - Try the separately downloaded experimental Supertonic 3 voice pack - Paste an existing xAI, OpenAI, or Google API key for optional cloud voices - Scan pages and extract text from photos - Import PDFs, EPUBs, text files, web links, and audio - Discover verified written articles from approved public sources - Save articles locally for offline reading and listening - Create a branded Audio Card video and optional revocable listening link - Continue from the Home Screen with Auren widgets - Keep your place in every item - Adjust voice, speed, rewind, forward, and sleep timer - Read and listen in the same focused view You do not create an Auren account or sign in. Auren creates an anonymous installation identity on your device for online services such as translation, connected-provider narration, Gift a Listen, and support. The identifier and its 32-byte secret stay in ThisDeviceOnly Keychain storage. Auren stores only a hash of the secret and uses short-lived installation sessions. Auren Premium Voice sends each uncached passage through Auren's service for narration and tracks the period allowance. A Premium-only access token is stored in iOS Keychain. Premium audio is cached on the device and on Auren's service; private-import audio is owner-scoped. Optional connected-provider narration accepts an existing developer API key. For each uncached passage, Auren sends the provider key and passage through its Cloudflare service to the provider selected. Connected-provider audio is cached on the device. Auren does not create provider accounts or sell provider usage. Before translating an article, Auren asks for permission to send the article title and text through Auren's service on Cloudflare to Google Gemini. Do not continue with content you do not want processed off your device. Auren requires an Auren subscription for app access. In the US, Auren Monthly is $7.99 per month and includes about 75 minutes of Auren Premium Voice each month. Auren Annual is $59.99 per year and includes 15 hours of Auren Premium Voice each year. App Store pricing varies by region. Eligible new annual subscribers can receive a 7-day free trial with the full annual allowance available from its start. The monthly plan has no introductory offer. Each plan renews automatically for its billing period unless canceled in your App Store account. Apple determines trial eligibility and shows the offer and price before purchase confirmation. Privacy Policy: https://aurenreader.com/privacy/ Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Support: https://aurenreader.com/support/

About

MagicReader

Features
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Read without touching the screen. MagicReader is a hands-free reader for EPUB, PDF and comics: turn your head, wave a hand, wink, or just say "next page" — and the page turns. Or sit back and let a natural voice read to you. Whether your hands are busy, wet, full, or simply resting — or touching the screen is difficult for you — MagicReader keeps the story going. NEW: OPENS LIKE A REAL BOOK • Ready for iPhone Duo — unfold it and your book becomes a two-page spread, with the spine right on the fold • Landscape reading — two pages side by side on iPad and most iPhones, for EPUB, PDF and comics, including vertical Japanese books • Flip page turns — pages turn over like paper and follow your finger • Split View on iPad and iPhone Duo TOUCH-FREE READING • Head control — turn your head left or right to flip pages; look up to open or close a book • Wink control — wink your right eye to go forward, your left to go back (Face ID devices) • Hand control — a cursor follows your hand; close your hand to grab a book, swipe from the screen edge to flip • Voice control — say "next", "back", "open", "read aloud" and more, in English, Japanese, Spanish, French or German • A guided tour teaches every gesture with live practice NATURAL READ-ALOUD • Natural, expressive voices read your EPUB books aloud — in English and Japanese • The sentence being spoken is highlighted, and pages turn in step with the narration • English narration powered by Kokoro; Japanese voices powered by VOICEVOX (VOICEVOX:No.7, VOICEVOX:å››å›½ć‚ćŸć‚“, VOICEVOX:é’å±±é¾ę˜Ÿ, VOICEVOX Nemo) • Books in Spanish, French and German are read by your device's system voice for that language, with nothing to download • Natural voices are downloaded once, then work fully offline — all speech is generated on your device YOUR LIBRARY, YOUR WAY • EPUB and PDF books, plus CBZ/CBR comics and manga • Beautiful animated bookshelf themes — drifting watercolour clouds, a starry cosmos, and story worlds that come alive behind special books • Japanese vertical text (ēø¦ę›øć) done right, with optional automatic furigana (ćµć‚ŠćŒćŖ) above kanji • Comfortable reading themes, adjustable fonts (including OpenDyslexic for dyslexia-friendly reading), and remembered positions THOUSANDS OF FREE CLASSICS • Browse and download public-domain classics from Project Gutenberg and Aozora Bunko (é’ē©ŗę–‡åŗ«) — from Alice in Wonderland to éŠ€ę²³é‰„é“ć®å¤œ — right inside the app PRIVATE BY DESIGN • The camera and microphone are used only to recognize your gestures and commands, entirely on your device • Nothing is recorded, nothing is uploaded, and there are no accounts, no ads, and no tracking — ever MagicReader began in 2012 as one of the first face-controlled book readers on the App Store. It has been rebuilt from the ground up for today's devices — same magic, new tricks. Reading is best when nothing comes between you and the story. Not even your hands.

Screenshots

Auren4 screens
MagicReader2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: MagicReader at none against Auren's 2. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Auren sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. MagicReader asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference Ā· 5 level
Auren versus MagicReader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAurenMagicReader
PriceFreeFree
Update frequency—Monthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size49 MB62 MB
Age rating12+4+
Developer21 MediaLeo Rivas-Micoud

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Auren

Subscriptions2
  • Auren Monthly$7.991 Month
  • Auren Annual7 Days trial$59.991 Year
None

MagicReader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Auren free?
Auren is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MagicReader free?
MagicReader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Auren or MagicReader have ads?
Neither Auren nor MagicReader shows ads.

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