Comparison

Read Forge vs Max Read

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

Head to head
About

Read Forge

Read full description

Read Forge turns anything you can read into a stream of focused words, so you read faster with less effort. Instead of dragging your eyes across lines of text, Read Forge shows one word at a time in a fixed spot — your eyes stay still, and the text comes to you. GET TEXT IN FROM ANYWHERE • Highlight text in any app — Safari, Mail, Messages, anywhere — and tap Share → Copy to Read Forge • Share a whole article page from your browser and Read Forge extracts the readable text, minus the menus, banners, and clutter • Import books and documents: EPUB, PDF, TXT, and non-DRM MOBI, with chapter navigation • Or just paste READ YOUR WAY • Focus mode: one word at a time, with an optional red anchor letter that holds your eye on the optimal recognition point • Overview mode: a full block of text with a moving highlight, like following a finger across the page • Tempo from a relaxed 120 up to 900 words per minute, with natural pauses at sentence and clause boundaries • Six reading fonts, adjustable size, light and dark appearance YOUR LIBRARY REMEMBERS • Imported books are saved on your device with your reading position • Scrub anywhere in a text, jump back a sentence, or restart a chapter • Time-remaining estimate at your current pace PRIVATE BY DESIGN No accounts, no ads, no analytics, no tracking. Your books, articles, and reading habits never leave your device. Whether it's the morning news, a long read you've been putting off, or an entire novel — Read Forge helps you power through it, one focused word at a time.

About

Max Read

Features
Read full description

Max Read shows you one word at a time, right where your eyes are already looking. No lines to follow, no jumping back — just words arriving at the pace you choose. WHY IT WORKS When you read normally, your eyes spend most of their time moving between words instead of taking them in. Max Read removes those jumps: every word appears in the same spot, aligned to a highlighted anchor letter. Your eyes rest, your focus sharpens, and your pace climbs. READ ANYTHING • Import EPUB and PDF files • Open web articles from a link • Paste any text from your clipboard • Scan printed pages with your camera — OCR turns photos into readable text YOUR PACE, YOUR RULES • Set your speed from 100 to 1,000 words per minute • Add a natural pause at the end of each sentence • Feel the rhythm with subtle haptic feedback MAKE IT YOURS • Four backgrounds, including a calm animated gradient • Serif, sans-serif and typewriter fonts in three sizes • Eight anchor colors and adjustable guide lines PICK UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF • Your Library keeps every document with reading progress and time left • The Content Explorer shows the full text so you can jump anywhere Max Read speaks your language: English, Danish, German, Spanish, Arabic, Turkish, Swedish, Chinese, Japanese, Greek, French, Dutch, Italian and Russian. Questions or ideas? Write to info@sebaexhibits.com — feedback goes straight to the developer. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Read Forge4 screens
Max Read4 screens

Verdict

The call

Read Forge and Max Read are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Read Forge sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Max Read sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Read Forge versus Max Read: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRead ForgeMax Read
PriceFreeFree
Update frequency—Fortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.618.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBen SpearsSensonet

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Read Forge

One-time1
  • Read Forge Pro$7.99
2 purchases

Max Read

Subscriptions1
  • Unlimited Yearly3 Days trial$1.991 Year
One-time1
  • Max Read Lifetime$5.99

Questions

Is Read Forge free?
Read Forge is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Max Read free?
Max Read is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Read Forge or Max Read have ads?
Neither Read Forge nor Max Read shows ads.

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