BookSpoken vs Codex Books
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BookSpoken
Transform any printed book into an audiobook with natural narration and word highlighting. Ideal for auditory learners, those with dyslexia, or anyone who prefers listening while reading. Enjoy offline functionality and complete privacy.
- Scan printed pages to audio
- Natural, human-sounding voice
- Word-by-word highlighting
- Works offline
- Complete privacy
- One-time purchase
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BookSpoken turns any printed book into a read-along audiobook, right on your iPhone. Point your camera at the pages. BookSpoken reads them aloud in a natural, human-sounding voice and highlights each word as it speaks, so your eyes and ears stay in the same place. Hearing and seeing a sentence at once is how reading clicks. It is made for anyone who reads better by ear: people with dyslexia, readers learning English, students working through a dense chapter, tired eyes at the end of a long day, or anyone who simply prefers to listen. WHY BOOKSPOKEN A real voice, not a robot. The natural on-device voice sounds nothing like the built-in phone reader. Follow along. Every word is highlighted as it is spoken, so you never lose your place. Works on paper. Scan a physical book, a textbook, a magazine, a printout, anything printed. Completely private. Your photos of the pages and the text never leave your phone. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is tracked. Works offline. The voice runs entirely on your device, so no signal is needed. HOW IT WORKS 1. Snap the cover, then the pages. 2. BookSpoken reads the text and tidies it up. 3. Press play and follow along, word by word. FREE TO TRY Read the first pages of any book for free. A single one-time purchase unlocks every page of every book you scan, forever. No subscription, no account.
Codex Books
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Codex helps you build and organize a personal book library from the books around you. Scan a book cover with your camera, pick a photo from your library, scan an ISBN barcode, or search by title, author, or ISBN. Codex retrieves book details such as title, author, year, cover, description, and ISBN, then saves them into your library for quick browsing and lookup. Your collection can be sorted by author, year, or category, and books can be grouped into genres and adjusted manually when needed. You can also export your full library as JSON for backup or sharing. Features: - Scan book covers with OCR-based search - Scan ISBN barcodes with the camera - Search manually by title, author, or ISBN - Save title, author, year, category, description, cover, and ISBN - Organize books by author, year, and category - Edit categories and remove books from the library - Export your collection as JSON - Sync your library through iCloud - Codex is designed for readers who want a fast way to catalog physical books without maintaining a spreadsheet by hand.Note:In order to function, the app needs Google API with Books API access which can be configured via the app settings.
Screenshots
Verdict
BookSpoken and Codex Books 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
Both are free to download. BookSpoken sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Codex Books sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | BookSpoken | Codex Books |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | — | Every 3 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 468 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Joe Murfin | Shinro OU |
In-app purchases
BookSpoken
- BookSpoken Unlimited$9.99
Codex Books
- Unlimited Library (Lifetime)$5.99









