Comparison

Analects Reader vs Tao Te Ching

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

Head to head
About

Analects Reader

Explore Confucius's Analects with interactive features. Read in original Chinese and English, with tappable characters for detailed meanings, readings, and usage. Offers multiple reading modes and integrated podcast commentary.

Highlights
  • Original Chinese and English text
  • Tappable characters with detailed meanings
  • Multiple reading modes (Study, Translation, Chinese, Classical)
  • Integrated podcast commentary with episode guides
  • Notes saved as Markdown in iCloud Drive
  • Offline access to Chinese text
Features
Read full description

The complete Analects of Confucius: all twenty books and 512 passages, in the original Chinese and in English, built for actually reading it. Every character is tappable. The card that opens shows what the character means here, in this passage — not a dictionary's one-size answer — along with its reading, the terms it belongs to, and how it is used across the whole book. Pinyin sits over the characters when you want it and disappears when you don't. READ IT YOUR WAY • Study — the full apparatus: text, translation, pinyin, tappable words, per-passage tone coloring. • Translation — the English as a book. The original waits one tap away under each passage. • Chinese — the received text alone, unglossed, with the English one tap away. • Classical — the text as old editions set it, in columns right to left. Four pages to choose from: one typeset, and three photographed from real copies held in Tokyo, Taipei, and Kyoto — a Qing manuscript, a Ming block print, and a 1550 scholar's copy — with every character mapped, so the glosses work even on a photograph. Scroll the book as one column, or turn it one passage per page, like a printed book. THE COMMENTARY GROWS WITH THE PODCAST The app carries the episode guides from the Exploring the Analects podcast — passage by passage: the philosophical discussion, the historical context, the language notes, with the audio a tap away. New episodes arrive as they are published. YOURS, IN THE FULLEST SENSE Notes you take live in your own iCloud Drive as Markdown — readable anywhere, and they outlive the app. The Chinese text is built in and always works offline. There are no accounts, no ads, no analytics, and no tracking: nothing about your reading is collected. Everything is free — the text, both translations, the glosses, the classical pages, the commentary. A tip jar exists for those who want to keep the project going; nothing is unlocked, because nothing is locked.

About

Tao Te Ching

Features
Read full description

Read, listen to, and understand the Tao Te Ching. Chang Dao brings all 81 chapters of Lao Tzu’s classic together with clear modern commentary, English audio, and a calm offline reading experience. Also known as the Dao De Jing or Daodejing, the Tao Te Ching is one of the foundational works of Taoism and Daoism. Explore ideas such as Wu Wei, simplicity, balance, non-forcing, and living in harmony with the natural course of life. FEATURES • Read all 81 chapters • Original passages with clear modern commentary • Calm English narration with multiple voice choices • Follow-along text highlighting during audio playback • Save chapters with bookmarks • Read and listen offline • Ad-free, focused reading experience Read the first five chapters for free. Unlock the complete book with a one-time in-app purchase. No subscription.

Screenshots

Analects Reader4 screens
Tao Te Ching4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Tao Te Ching at every 3 days against Analects Reader's every 2 weeks. Analects Reader's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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. Analects Reader sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Tao Te Ching sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Analects Reader ships an update every 2 weeks, Tao Te Ching every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Analects Reader versus Tao Te Ching: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAnalects ReaderTao Te Ching
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size276 MB49 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperElliott BernsteinRockhammer Labs LLC

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Analects Reader

One-time3
  • Through the Gate$3.00
  • Up to the Hall$10.00
  • Into the Chamber$30.00
1 purchases

Tao Te Ching

One-time1
  • Unlock Full Book$2.99

Questions

Is Analects Reader free?
Analects Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Tao Te Ching free?
Tao Te Ching is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Analects Reader or Tao Te Ching have ads?
Neither Analects Reader nor Tao Te Ching shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Analects Reader or Tao Te Ching?
Analects Reader ships an update every 2 weeks, and Tao Te Ching every 3 days. Most recently, Analects Reader was updated on October 16, 2026 and Tao Te Ching on October 12, 2026.

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