Comparison

LeafWave vs Blubb Reader

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

Head to head
About

LeafWave

This app allows you to read and listen to books and documents, offering customizable reading experiences and on-device narration. It supports various file formats and provides tools for annotation and sharing, with a strong focus on user privacy.

Highlights
  • Import EPUB, PDF, text, and more
  • Switch between visual reading and narration
  • On-device narration for privacy and offline use
  • Adjustable text size, spacing, and themes
  • Add bookmarks and highlights
  • Export annotated documents
  • Access free public-domain titles
Features
Read full description

LeafWave helps you read with your eyes, listen at your pace, and keep your place across long books and documents. Import EPUB, PDF, text, RTF, HTML, and Markdown files, then switch naturally between visual reading and narration. LeafWave’s bundled neural voices run on your iPhone or iPad, so your document text stays private and narration works offline. Apple system voices remain available too. READ YOUR WAY • Adjust text size, spacing, theme, and reading layout • Move by chapter, page, paragraph, or book progress • Resume from your saved reading or listening position • Browse more than 75,000 free public-domain titles from Project Gutenberg LISTEN ANYWHERE • Expressive on-device narration with multiple voice styles • Automatic language detection and narration across 31 languages with Premium • Background and lock-screen playback with system media controls • Adjustable narration speed and generated-audio continuity • Teach LeafWave how to pronounce names and tricky words with Premium MARK UP AND SHARE • Add bookmarks and highlights • Attach comments to exact passages • Export annotated PDFs, embedded PDF annotations, or an editable LeafWave Review Package PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No LeafWave account, advertising, analytics, or tracking • Narration and document analysis happen on-device • Optional iCloud sync is off by default and uses your private iCloud account • Imported documents remain local unless you enable sync or share an export LeafWave includes a 14-day Premium trial. After the trial, visual reading, bookmarks, Apple system narration, two natural voice styles, five narration languages (English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and German), and a five-book library remain available. Premium unlocks all ten natural voice styles, all 31 narration languages, unlimited books, Teach LeafWave, highlights, comments, annotated exports, and optional iCloud sync. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled in App Store account settings. Lifetime Premium is a one-time purchase. Terms of Use (Apple Standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Blubb Reader

Features
Read full description

Blubb is a free reader for books and research papers. Import EPUB, PDF, text, and scans, then read and listen offline. For research papers with an available arXiv HTML edition, Blubb offers a formatted view that preserves equations, figures, tables, citations, and working links. Keep the original PDF at hand and change the reader's font, size, theme, and page or scrolling layout. On-device voices read aloud from your last position. Notes and highlights stay with each book. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is included to get you started. No account, subscription, ads, or tracking. Your imported books and notes stay on your device. iCloud sync is under development and unavailable in this release.

Screenshots

LeafWave4 screens
Blubb Reader2 screens

Verdict

The call

LeafWave and Blubb Reader 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 · 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.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
LeafWave versus Blubb Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLeafWaveBlubb Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size266 MB215 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSamik BanerjeeChuanjie Duanmu

In-app purchases

None

LeafWave

No in-app purchases

None

Blubb Reader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is LeafWave free?
LeafWave is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Blubb Reader free?
Blubb Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do LeafWave or Blubb Reader have ads?
Neither LeafWave nor Blubb Reader shows ads.

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