Comparison

Readune vs Plain Reader

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

Head to head
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 natural voices that run on your device. 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 follows sentences with natural voices that run entirely on your device, or with your system voices, and offers playback speed, a sleep timer, background audio and lock-screen controls. Natural voices for more than 30 languages, including English and Chinese, are a one-time download. Free readers get three unlimited days of natural voices from first use, then 10 minutes a day; system voices are always unlimited. 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 Read Aloud with system voices work without Plus. Plus adds unlimited natural voices, optional book-file sync through your own iCloud Drive, a highlights notebook, smart shelves, reading statistics and individual book themes. Choose a monthly or yearly subscription, or a lifetime purchase. Where an introductory offer is available, the app shows its terms before you subscribe. 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. Natural voice packs download once from public model hosts or Readune’s download mirror; speech is then generated on your device, and the text being read is not sent anywhere. Reading positions, bookmarks and preferences can sync through Apple’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, or start with the included public-domain sample book. 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.

About

Plain Reader

Features
Read full description

Plain Reader opens your books, PDFs, comics and image folders right where they are β€” in Files, iCloud Drive, or on a USB drive or external SSD. No account, no import, no copies. READ, NOTHING ELSE β€’ Menus stay hidden while you read. Tap the center to bring them back. β€’ Pages fill the screen. Swipe, tap the sides, or drag the slider to jump anywhere. β€’ Turn your iPhone or iPad sideways for two-page spreads, with the cover on its own. β€’ Turn pages with a Bluetooth page turner or a keyboard. TXT AND EPUB β€’ Choose the font, size, line spacing, margins and theme β€” pages reflow to fit. β€’ Listen: books in 31 languages are read aloud by natural voices made on your device. β€’ Table of contents, search and bookmarks. TXT text encoding is detected automatically. COMICS AND MANGA β€’ Opens ZIP and CBZ archives without unpacking them β€” even ones with thousands of pages. β€’ Right-to-left reading for manga. β€’ A folder of images opens as one book. PDF β€’ Sharp pages, search, table of contents, thumbnails and text selection. β€’ Two-page spreads on wide screens. YOUR FILES STAY YOURS β€’ Files are read in place and never uploaded anywhere. β€’ Bookmarks and your reading position are kept for every book. β€’ Works with iCloud Drive and external storage through the Files app. PLAIN READER PRO Plain Reader is free with a small banner ad. Watch one short video ad to read without banner ads for 2 hours, or to use Listen for 1 hour. Plain Reader Pro removes all ads and adds unlimited Listen, Auto Page Turn, and blocking the apps you pick while you read. Choose a Monthly or Yearly subscription β€” Yearly starts with a 7-day free trial for new subscribers β€” or a one-time Lifetime purchase. Restore it on your iPhone and iPad with the same Apple Account. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel them in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://ourbeom.com/plainreader/terms Privacy Policy: https://ourbeom.com/plainreader/privacy

Screenshots

Readune4 screens
Plain Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Readune at none against Plain Reader's shown. Plain Reader's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 8 days). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Readune sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Plain Reader sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Readune ships an update every 8 days, Plain Reader every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 5 level
Readune versus Plain Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReadunePlain Reader
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviewsβ€”100.0% of reviews
Update frequencyEvery 8 daysEvery 3 days β€” better
AdsNo β€” betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 β€” better18.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size50 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerζ―“ι‘« 戴OurBeom

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Readune

Subscriptions2
  • Readune Plus β€” Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Readune Plus β€” Yearly3 Days trial$12.991 Year
One-time1
  • Readune Plus β€” Lifetime$19.99
4 purchases

Plain Reader

Subscriptions2
  • Plain Reader Pro (Monthly)$0.991 Month
  • Plain Reader Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$6.991 Year
One-time2
  • Plain Reader Pro$2.99
  • Plain Reader Pro (Lifetime)$12.99

Questions

Is Readune free?
Readune is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Plain Reader free?
Plain Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Readune or Plain Reader have ads?
Plain Reader shows ads; Readune does not.
Which is updated more often, Readune or Plain Reader?
Readune ships an update every 8 days, and Plain Reader every 3 days. Most recently, Readune was updated on October 31, 2026 and Plain Reader on November 1, 2026.

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