Comparison

LeafWave vs Unison 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

Unison Reader

This app allows you to seamlessly switch between reading an ebook and listening to its audiobook. It synchronizes narration with text, offers generated voices for ebooks without audiobooks, and supports various file formats. Customize your reading experience with adjustable layouts, speeds, and appearance settings.

Highlights
  • Read and listen in sync
  • Generated voices for ebooks
  • Text generation from audiobooks
  • Import various file formats (EPUB, PDF, DOCX)
  • Customizable reading layouts and appearance
  • Highlighting, bookmarking, and word lookup
  • iCloud library synchronization
Features
Read full description

Your ebook. Your audiobook. One place in the story. Bring both versions of a book to Unison Reader and move seamlessly between reading and listening. Follow your audiobook's narrator in the text, word by word, then pick up reading where you left off. READ AND LISTEN TOGETHER Add your audiobook to its matching ebook. Unison Reader aligns the narration with the text on your device, so you can listen, read along, or switch between the two without hunting for your place. START WITH WHAT YOU HAVE Only have the ebook? Choose a voice generated on your device to read it aloud. Only have the audiobook? Unison Reader can generate text from its narration. These options help you read and listen even when you do not have both versions. YOUR BOOKS, YOUR LIBRARY Import EPUBs, PDFs, Word documents, plain text, Markdown, HTML, and other supported book files. Browse Project Gutenberg and Standard Ebooks, or download books and audiobooks from your own supported library server. MAKE READING COMFORTABLE Choose a paged, scrolling, or caption layout. Adjust appearance, listening speed, word emphasis, and how the text follows the voice. Save highlights and bookmarks, look up words, and adjust pronunciations. AT HOME ON YOUR DEVICES Sync your library through your own iCloud account when iCloud Drive is available. Speech generation and audiobook alignment happen on your device. Generated audio is prepared while Unison Reader is open; prepared audio continues playing with the screen locked. TRY LISTENING Reading is free. One hour of listening in step with the text is included. A one-time in-app purchase unlocks continued listening with your own audiobook or a generated voice. No subscription. Bring your own book and audiobook files; commercial titles are not included.

Screenshots

LeafWave4 screens
Unison Reader3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: LeafWave at none against Unison Reader's 1. LeafWave also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). Unison Reader's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 4 days). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Unison Reader sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. LeafWave asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for LeafWave against 5.0 for Unison Reader. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LeafWave ships an update every 4 days, Unison Reader every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
LeafWave versus Unison Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLeafWaveUnison Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size266 MB223 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperSamik BanerjeeMagrathea Software, LLC

Customer experience

LeafWave

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Unison Reader

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

LeafWave

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Unison Reader

One-time1
  • Listening unlock$4.99

Questions

Is LeafWave free?
LeafWave is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Unison Reader free?
Unison Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, LeafWave or Unison Reader?
LeafWave and Unison Reader are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do LeafWave or Unison Reader have ads?
Neither LeafWave nor Unison Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LeafWave or Unison Reader?
LeafWave ships an update every 4 days, and Unison Reader every 2 days. Most recently, LeafWave was updated on October 31, 2026 and Unison Reader on October 24, 2026.

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