Comparison

Nook vs Folio

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

Head to head
About

Nook

Features
Read full description

Nook is an RSS reader for people who would rather choose what they read. Add a feed, or paste a website and let Nook find the feed for you. Your subscriptions, what you have read, and what you have starred live on your device. There is no account to create, and nothing about your reading is sent anywhere. A READER THAT GETS OUT OF THE WAY Articles render natively, with real typography rather than a web page squeezed into a phone. Headings, quotes, code, tables, nested lists, images, and video all keep their structure. Set the font, size, line height, letter spacing, and colours, and switch any single feed to a full-page reader or the original site when its own layout is worth keeping. WORKS WITHOUT A NETWORK Nook is offline-first, not offline-capable. It launches, lists, and reads with no connection. Choose the articles to keep for later and decide when they expire. SYNC WITHOUT AN ACCOUNT Point Nook at a folder in iCloud Drive, Dropbox, or anywhere else that syncs files, and your feeds, read state, stars, categories, and folders follow you between devices. The folder service moves the files; Nook merges them, per device, so two devices changed at once do not overwrite each other. No server of ours is involved, because there isn't one. TRANSLATION, ON YOUR TERMS Translate a full article or just the titles in a list. Apple Intelligence runs on the device and costs nothing. Gemini is opt-in and uses an API key you provide, kept in this device's Keychain and never placed in the sync folder. ORGANISE IT HOWEVER YOU THINK Folders for feeds, colour-coded categories for articles, keyword rules, and text filters that collect what you would rather not see instead of deleting it. Optionally let Apple Intelligence or Gemini sort new articles by subject. QUIET BY DEFAULT No advertising, no tracking, no analytics, and no engagement mechanics. Badges and new-article notifications start off, and Nook asks for permission only after you turn one on โ€” never at launch. PUBLISHING (BETA, INVITATION ONLY) Nook can also publish what you write. Articles are stored as records in an AT Protocol repository that belongs to you, and served as a web page with a real feed others can subscribe to. You can export every record and delete it at any time, including while publishing is suspended. This part of Nook is in beta and needs an invitation; everything above works without one.

About

Folio

Features
Read full description

Folio is a personal workspace for the things you want to remember, make, and get done. CAPTURE YOUR THOUGHTS Write notes, organize them into notebooks, pin favorites, and build checklists. KEEP DOCUMENTS CLOSE Scan documents into editable text while keeping the original attached. Read PDFs, highlight passages, and keep linked notes alongside the source. MAKE ROOM TO DRAW Sketch on a canvas, choose colors and drawing tools, and export your work. PLAN YOUR EVERYDAY Organize tasks, keep shopping lists with totals, and collect useful information in your workspace. YOUR PERSONAL WORKSPACE Folio stores your content locally and requires no account. Export and share a copy when you choose. Optional calendar, map, and reminder features use Apple system services.

Screenshots

Nook4 screens
Folio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Folio at daily against Nook's every 3 days. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nook ships an update every 3 days, Folio daily. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
Nook versus Folio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNookFolio
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 daysDaily โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad โ€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size16 MB36 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperKANG SEUNGHYUNNagarjuna Reddy Bhimavarapu

In-app purchases

None

Nook

No in-app purchases

None

Folio

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Nook free?
Nook is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Folio free?
Folio is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Nook or Folio have ads?
Neither Nook nor Folio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nook or Folio?
Nook ships an update every 3 days, and Folio daily. Most recently, Nook was updated on October 25, 2026 and Folio on October 16, 2026.

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