Comparison

ReadTime vs mekuru

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

Head to head
About

ReadTime

This app encourages reading by allowing users to earn timed access to other apps based on the time spent reading. It features a digital bookshelf, progress tracking, and helps reduce phone addiction by creating a tangible reward for reading.

Highlights
  • Track reading sessions with a timer
  • Earn coins for reading time
  • Trade coins for timed app access
  • Digital bookshelf and book tracker
  • Progress tracking and reading reports
  • Reduce phone addiction
Features
Read full description

Read first. Scroll after. ReadTime is a reading habit app that lets you trade the time you spend reading for timed access to the apps you choose. Turn the time that disappears into social feeds and videos into a reason to open the book you meant to read. Finish a reading timer to earn coins, then spend those coins to temporarily unlock blocked apps. READ TO EARN APP TIME • Track focused reading sessions with a timer • Earn coins from completed reading time • Trade coins for timed app access • Temporarily unlock the apps you choose when you start the redeemed time • Automatically lock them again when time runs out A BEAUTIFUL BOOKSHELF AND BOOK TRACKER • Add books by search, ISBN barcode, or manual entry • Organize books as Want to Read, Reading, or Finished • Track pages and reading progress • Save notes and memorable quotes for each book SEE YOUR READING HABIT GROW • View book covers on a reading calendar • Keep a daily reading streak • Review weekly and monthly reading-time reports • Check your reading at a glance with widgets • Save and share your reading calendar as an image READTIME IS FOR YOU IF YOU WANT TO • Reduce phone addiction and mindless social media use • Build a consistent daily reading habit • Keep books, sessions, pages, and notes in one place • Earn screen time instead of relying on willpower alone • Create a simple reason to focus ReadTime uses Apple's Screen Time technology. Screen Time authorization is required to use app blocking. An active paid auto-renewable subscription is required to use all ReadTime features. A free trial may be available depending on the selected plan. Pricing, duration, and renewal terms are displayed on the in-app purchase screen. Terms of Use: https://app.notion.com/p/39bd12352d5880f19f0af3aeee7eeafb Privacy Policy: https://app.notion.com/p/39bd12352d5880c7a643ff778c78e3ca Contact: https://forms.gle/vfJFj7VrS2EovxKF9

About

mekuru

Experience the quiet companionship of reading paper books with others. This app creates a shared, silent space where reader avatars turn pages and indicate presence without direct interaction. Track your reading time and collect virtual book covers.

Highlights
  • Guest access, no sign-up needed
  • Join open or invite-only reading rooms
  • Silent page-turning indicators
  • Personal reading time tracking
  • Customizable reader avatars
  • Unlockable book cover art
Read full description

Read alone. Not alone—with quiet company for every page. mekuru is a reading room made for time with paper books. Small reader avatars settle into a warm study, and the gentle sign of a page turning lets you feel that someone else is reading too—without video, a microphone, or chat. WITH MEKURU, YOU CAN • Enter as a guest—no sign-up required • Join an open room and read quietly with others • Invite someone with a link and read together • Your reader turns its pages on its own — a faint paper sound is the only sign of presence that travels • Breaks and time away are sensed and shared softly, on their own • Keep your reading time and revisit it in your Time Shelf • Create an account to choose from six reader avatars and unlock book covers as you read • Become reading companions with the people you share a room with There are no DMs, likes, comments, follows, or rankings. mekuru is not about competing over pages. It is a place to let the time you spend with books accumulate quietly. In Korea, a trend called "text hip" has been spreading: enjoying the time spent reading, and sharing it. mekuru is a place to share that time — the middle of the reading itself — quietly, with someone else. OWNER (SUBSCRIPTION) The optional Owner plan is an auto-renewing subscription, billed monthly or yearly, that lets you furnish a room of your own and open it to your companions anytime. Registered accounts can try a one-time 14-day viewing first, no card required. In Japan the price is ¥580/month or ¥5,800/year; pricing for your region is always shown in the App Store before you confirm. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account, and the subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel it anytime in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://www.mekuru.app/en/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.mekuru.app/en/terms

Screenshots

ReadTime4 screens
mekuru4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: mekuru at 86% against ReadTime's 0%. mekuru also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly). ReadTime's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price, ads, 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. mekuru sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. ReadTime asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ReadTime ships an update monthly, mekuru every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
ReadTime versus mekuru: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReadTimemekuru
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews85.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB67 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRyosuke Hayashi8ARMS, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY

Customer experience

ReadTime

Written reviews4 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative50.0%

mekuru

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews35 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral8.6%
Negative5.7%

In-app purchases

None

ReadTime

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

mekuru

Subscriptions2
  • Owner$3.991 Month
  • Owner (Annual)$39.901 Year

Questions

Is ReadTime free?
ReadTime is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is mekuru free?
mekuru is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ReadTime or mekuru have ads?
Neither ReadTime nor mekuru shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ReadTime or mekuru?
ReadTime ships an update monthly, and mekuru every 4 days. Most recently, ReadTime was updated on October 28, 2026 and mekuru on October 29, 2026.

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