Comparison

Widget Reader vs Readune

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

Head to head
About

Widget Reader

Features
Read full description

Bring your own books into a quieter reading space. Widget Reader makes it easy to read a page, listen to a chapter, or enjoy a short passage from your Home Screen. โ€ข Import DRM-free EPUB, TXT, text-based PDF, MOBI/AZW, Markdown, HTML and FB2. โ€ข Choose files from your device, iCloud Drive or third-party cloud services enabled in Files. โ€ข Adjust fonts, text size, spacing, themes and page turns. โ€ข Listen with installed offline system voices, sentence highlighting and a sleep timer. โ€ข Save bookmarks, highlights and notes. Put your current book in a Home Screen widget. โ€ข Pro adds unlimited imports, organization, reading reports, advanced widgets, exports and optional private iCloud sync. Imported files are local copies; changes to the original do not update them. Export Google Docs to a supported format first. Scanned PDFs, OCR and DRM-protected books are not supported. Interactive widgets require iOS 17 or later. iPhone includes up to 10 unique books for free. Reading and library actions on iPad require Pro. Weekly and yearly subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled. Any trial is subject to App Store eligibility; see the purchase screen for current prices and terms. No app account or advertising. Books stay local unless you enable private iCloud sync. https://reader.jameshaoyu.com/privacy https://reader.jameshaoyu.com/subscription-terms https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Readune

Features
Read full description

Find the line you remember. Keep reading where it leads. Readune is an EPUB and PDF reader for the books you bring. Import your files, search across their text, or listen with Read Aloud. No Readune account is required. SEARCH ACROSS YOUR LIBRARY Remember a phrase but not the book? Search the indexed text of your library in one place. See matching passages grouped by book and jump into the text. Search and indexing happen on your device. Chinese text is searchable within sentences, too. BRING YOUR OWN BOOKS Read EPUB, PDF and comics in CBZ or CBR. Import TXT, HTML, Markdown, FB2 and unprotected MOBI or AZW3 files; supported conversions happen on your device. Add files from Files, the Share sheet, drag and drop, or Shortcuts. MAKE ROOM FOR READING Choose Light, Dark, Warm or an E-ink-inspired grayscale theme. Adjust text size, line spacing and margins for reflowable books. Use pages or continuous scrolling. The E-ink mode simulates a paperlike screen with reduced animation; it does not turn your display into E Ink hardware. LISTEN AT YOUR PACE Read Aloud uses available system voices, follows sentences and offers playback speed, a sleep timer, background audio and lock-screen controls. Voice availability varies by device and language. KEEP YOUR PLACE Use chapter navigation, bookmarks, in-book search and reading progress. Read comics in either direction. OPTIONAL READUNE PLUS Core importing, reading, library search and system Read Aloud work without Plus. Plus adds optional book-file sync through your own iCloud Drive, reading statistics and individual book themes. Choose a monthly or yearly subscription, or a lifetime purchase. Subscription payments are charged to your Apple Account; subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Manage or cancel in your account settings. YOUR FILES, YOUR CHOICE No ads or tracking. Reading positions, bookmarks and preferences can sync through Appleโ€™s iCloud key-value storage. Book files sync only when you enable Plus library sync. Readune does not operate a server that receives your books or searches. Bring your own DRM-free files. Books shown in screenshots are original illustrations of an imported library and are not included. Image-only books and scanned PDFs without a text layer are not full-text searchable; no OCR is included. Layout and Read Aloud support depend on the file. Privacy: https://readune.thinksview.com/privacy Terms: https://readune.thinksview.com/terms Open-source licenses are available in Settings.

Screenshots

Widget Reader4 screens
Readune4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Widget Reader at none against Readune's 3. Widget Reader also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Readune's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Readune sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Widget Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Widget Reader ships an update every 3 weeks, Readune weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
Widget Reader versus Readune: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWidget ReaderReadune
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 โ€” better17.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size56 MB73 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerๆตฉๅฎ‡ ้ป„ๆฏ“้‘ซ ๆˆด

In-app purchases

None

Widget Reader

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Readune

Subscriptions2
  • Readune Plus โ€” Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Readune Plus โ€” Yearly3 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Readune Plus โ€” Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is Widget Reader free?
Widget Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Readune free?
Readune is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Widget Reader or Readune have ads?
Neither Widget Reader nor Readune shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Widget Reader or Readune?
Widget Reader ships an update every 3 weeks, and Readune weekly. Most recently, Widget Reader was updated on October 15, 2026 and Readune on October 7, 2026.

Other comparisons