Island Reader vs ReadStream
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Island Reader
Transform your personal library into an audiobook experience with AI-powered narration. Organize your EPUB, PDF, and TXT files, track reading progress, and capture key insights with notes and highlights.
- AI read aloud with customizable voices and speed
- Import EPUB, PDF, and TXT files
- Personal library organization
- Reading progress tracking and goals
- Highlighting, note-taking, and quote cards
- Cross-device syncing via iCloud
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Read your own books, listen with AI voices, and keep your reading goals and ideas together in Island Reader. 1. AI READ ALOUD Listen while commuting, running, or relaxing. Choose a voice, adjust the speed, and follow sentence highlighting as you switch between reading and listening. Online AI voices require an internet connection. 2. YOUR PERSONAL LIBRARY Import EPUB, PDF, and TXT files from your device or over local Wi-Fi. Organize books into groups, check each book's progress, and pick up where you left off. 3. READING STATISTICS AND GOALS Track reading and listening time, set daily reading and annual book goals, and monitor your progress over time. 4. HIGHLIGHTS, NOTES, AND QUOTE CARDS Turn favorite sentences into shareable text cards. Revisit highlights at random, or review one book's highlights and notes together. 5. A SHORTCUT BACK TO YOUR BOOK On iPhone and iPad, use widgets to return to your recent reading. Tap Apple Watch to open your last-read book on the paired iPhone. Watch features require that iPhone; audio plays through it or its connected audio device. CONTINUE ACROSS IPHONE, IPAD, AND MAC iCloud syncs supported reading progress, highlights, and notes. Book files are not synced by iCloud; import the same book on each device. ISLAND READER PRO Island Reader is free to download and includes core reading features. Optional Island Reader Pro purchases unlock additional benefits, including unlimited book imports and note export. Available plans, benefits, durations, trial eligibility, and localized prices are shown in the app before purchase. Auto-renewable subscriptions renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation. Manage or cancel subscriptions in your App Store account settings. A lifetime purchase, when offered, is a one-time purchase and does not renew. Voice availability and AI speech features may vary by language, device, region, and network connection. Privacy Policy: https://fancy-crop-f2c.notion.site/Privacy-Policy-730a85c63d7b829eb47201e27f655995 Terms of Use: https://fancy-crop-f2c.notion.site/Terms-of-Service-feda85c63d7b82d5aebd011068fe1bf6
ReadStream
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ReadStream is a reading app for people who love books — whether you read them yourself or listen to them read back to you. I built it because I was tired of losing my place in downloaded books and chapters, juggling formats, and never quite knowing where I'd left off. If that sounds familiar, this might be the app you've been looking for. What you can do with it: • Import books and chapters in Word, EPUB or PDF format, organise them into series, and always come back to exactly where you stopped. • Fetch chapters from sites like Royal Road or Project Gutenberg, keep them in your library, and pull in updates whenever new ones appear. • Listen to your books read aloud — useful when your eyes are tired, or when you'd rather just close them and let the story come to you. • Save articles from the web and follow RSS feeds, so your long-form reading and the stories you track all live in the same place. • Keep notes as you go, against any book or chapter, without needing a separate app to do it. • Choose from a range of reading themes, including a warm paper mode that feels closer to an actual page than a screen. Most reading apps are built around content they want to sell you. ReadStream is built around content you've already found. Your imported chapters, your downloaded audiobooks, the serials you follow on Patreon or Royal Road — it's all treated as first-class material, organised the way you'd want a proper library to work. Everything stays on your device. Nothing is chasing you for your attention. It won't suit everyone. If you want a shop, a social feed, or reading challenges with badges, this isn't that. It's a quiet app for people who just want to read. If your reading life is currently scattered across half a dozen folders and formats, ReadStream is one place to bring it home. https://dscreations.co.uk/readstream/support
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ReadStream at none against Island Reader's 4. ReadStream also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. Island Reader sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. ReadStream asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Island Reader | ReadStream |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 72.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 177 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ZHENGZHOU CREATION INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. | David Sealey |
In-app purchases
Island Reader
- Monthly$2.991 Month
- Annual$14.991 Year
- Lifetime Offer$14.99
- Lifetime$19.99
ReadStream
No in-app purchases









