Comparison

Tingwen Reader vs Pagecast

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

Head to head
About

Tingwen Reader

Import your own e-books in various formats and have them read aloud with customizable AI voices. Enjoy background playback and synchronized reading/listening progress for a personalized audio-book experience.

Highlights
  • Import various e-book formats (TXT, PDF, EPUB, MOBI, AZW3)
  • Customizable AI voices with emotional tones
  • Synchronized reading and listening progress
  • Background and lock screen playback
  • Local data processing for privacy
  • Free daily advanced model usage
Features
Read full description

[Multi-Format Import·Free Upload] Supports TXT, PDF, EPUB, MOBI, AZW3 and more. One-tap upload turns your personal collection into audiobooks—listen anytime, anywhere! [Subscribe·Unlock All Benefits] Get instant access to all high-quality emotional voices and richer reading styles. Flexible monthly plan (¥9.9/mo), cost-effective quarterly (¥27/quarter), or best-value yearly (¥99/yr)—less than ¥0.30 per day for year-round warm companionship! Tingwen Reader is a local reading tool designed for long-form text reading and listening. Import your own e-books, flip pages while reading, or let the app read aloud continuously. Key Features: Local Import: Supports common e-book and text formats, with content saved locally by default. Synced Progress: Listening updates your reading progress automatically; start listening right from where you left off in reading. Local AI Reading: Choose between Balanced and High-Quality modes, or switch to a power-saving basic model. Custom Voices: Record or import voice samples to create your own local timbre. Background & Lock-Screen Playback: Perfect for commutes, bedtime, and extended reading sessions. Daily Free Usage: Non-subscribers get 30 minutes of advanced model use per day, after which the basic model remains available. Share a book to earn 30 bonus minutes; subscribers enjoy unlimited advanced model time. Tingwen Reader prioritizes local processing and content privacy. Your book texts, reading progress, and custom voice samples stay on your device—no ad tracking, no cloud sync. First-time use requires a one-time online device authorization, but no book content or voice recordings are uploaded. 【Auto-Renewal Subscription Details】 Plans: Monthly (1 mo), Quarterly (3 mo), Yearly (12 mo) auto-renewing subscriptions. Pricing: ¥9.9/mo, ¥27/quarter, ¥99/yr. Auto-Renewal: Your iTunes account will be charged within 24 hours before each renewal date. To cancel, manually turn off auto-renewal in iPhone/iPad "Settings" > "Apple ID" > "Subscriptions" at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Terms of Use (Apple Standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://tingwen.kevincai.space/privacy

About

Pagecast

Features
Read full description

Pagecast reads the documents already on your phone out loud — PDF, EPUB, TXT, Markdown, DOCX, MOBI, AZW3. Import and listen. No account, no internet, no subscription. WHY PAGECAST • Truly offline. Speech is generated on your phone. Your files, titles and reading progress are never uploaded — listen on a plane or underground. • A bookstore built in. Free public-domain classics in seven languages — add one to your shelf and it's yours to read or listen to offline. • Buy once. There are no servers to pay for, so there is nothing to rent by the month. The free version is free forever; the lifetime upgrade is a single purchase you can restore on your next phone. • Natural pauses. Where a sentence breaks decides whether it sounds read or recited. The advanced sentence model places pauses at long clauses, quotes and dialogue. • Voices worth listening to. Super HD voices for English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French and German, with intonation that follows punctuation; three offline HD voices for Chinese; every voice built into your device stays free. • Mixed-language text. A second language inside the text is read by a second voice — no more English read with a Chinese accent, or the other way round. WHAT YOU GET • Automatic chapter detection with a tappable table of contents; seek by sentence • Keeps playing on the lock screen and in the background, with lock-screen controls • Sleep timer, 0.75–2× speed, text size and line spacing, night mode • The sentence being read is highlighted as you listen • Scanned PDFs are recognized automatically • Import straight from Files, Mail or any app's Share / Open In FREE vs LIFETIME Free: unlimited imports, every format, built-in system voices, chapters, speed, sleep timer and night mode — forever. Lifetime (one-time purchase, no auto-renewal): the advanced sentence model, offline HD and Super voice downloads, and two-voice mixed-language reading. Pay once, restore on any new device. LANGUAGES Interface and reading: English, 简体中文, 繁體中文, 日本語, 한국어, Español, Français, Deutsch. Questions or a format you'd like supported? pagecast@goyouhub.com Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy policy: https://pagecast.goyouhub.com/privacy

Screenshots

Tingwen Reader4 screens
Pagecast4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Tingwen Reader at none against Pagecast's 1. Pagecast's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Pagecast sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Tingwen Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tingwen Reader ships an update every 2 weeks, Pagecast weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Tingwen Reader versus Pagecast: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTingwen ReaderPagecast
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size354 MB77 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer蕾 王上海友购信息科技有限公司

In-app purchases

None

Tingwen Reader

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Pagecast

One-time1
  • Lifetime Unlock$0.99

Questions

Is Tingwen Reader free?
Tingwen Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pagecast free?
Pagecast is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Tingwen Reader or Pagecast have ads?
Neither Tingwen Reader nor Pagecast shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tingwen Reader or Pagecast?
Tingwen Reader ships an update every 2 weeks, and Pagecast weekly. Most recently, Tingwen Reader was updated on October 22, 2026 and Pagecast on October 31, 2026.

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