NextPhase Reader vs Plain Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
NextPhase Reader
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Read it. Listen to it. Learn from it. Listen instead of read. Turn your documents and compatible books into audio. NextPhase Reader brings reading, listening and language practice together on iPhone and iPad, using content you choose. LISTEN TO YOUR CONTENT ⢠Read supported books and documents aloud using Apple device voices by default, with voice, speed and sleep-timer controls. Optional online voices are also available for live listening. ⢠Listen to the original text, its translation, or both. ⢠With Pro, prepare chapters or PDF pages as saved audio for offline playback. Export separate M4A recordings to Files or share them with another app. ⢠Create saved audio with downloaded Kokoro voices, on your device with the app in the foreground. Apple device voices and online voices are for live listening; online voices require an internet connection. READ WHAT INTERESTS YOU ⢠Import your own DRM-free EPUB, KEPUB, PDF, MOBI, AZW3, FB2, TXT, RTF, DOCX and HTML files. ⢠Explore free classics through Project Gutenberg and Standard Ebooks, or connect a compatible OPDS library. ⢠Adjust text size and reading layout, choose Light, Sepia or Dark, and keep highlights, notes and bookmarks. ⢠Read text-based PDFs in their original layout or as flowing text. Scanned PDFs without selectable text are not supported for translation or speech. LEARN FROM YOUR READING Stay motivated. Read in the languages you want. Import content for side-by-side reading. ⢠Read original and translated EPUB paragraphs together: side by side on wider screens, interleaved on narrow screens. ⢠Save words in context and return to them with spaced-repetition review. ⢠Use pronunciation guides for supported languages, including pinyin, furigana and romaja. ⢠With Pro, highlight saved words as they reappear, export vocabulary as CSV, and export compatible books as bilingual EPUBs. Your first vocabulary CSV export is free. TRANSLATION CHOICES Built-in online translation needs no API key. Apple on-device translation requires a supported device, OS and downloaded language pair; unavailable language packs may lead to an online fallback. You can also use your own DeepL, OpenAI, Google Cloud or Azure key. Provider availability and quality vary by language. Completed translations are cached for reuse. PRO: ONE-TIME PURCHASE Choose one book to try Pro features free. Unlock Pro for all your books with a one-time in-app purchase for major version 1. No subscription. Pro includes natural voice downloads, saved audio, bilingual EPUB export and vocabulary export. Family Sharing is supported. Restore purchases is available in Settings. YOUR CONTENT, YOUR CHOICES Core reading works without an account. Your library is stored locally. Online translation and speech send relevant text to the selected services; optional account sync uploads reading data. Downloaded voices and saved audio support offline listening, but online services and new downloads require a connection. Compatible, DRM-free content only. Audio exports are separate chapter or page recordings, not a single combined audiobook. Interface available in English and Spanish.
Plain Reader
This app provides a distraction-free reading experience for various file formats including EPUB, TXT, PDF, and comics. It allows direct access to files from cloud storage or external drives without importing or creating copies, offering customizable reading settings and text-to-speech functionality.
- Read directly from Files, iCloud Drive, USB
- Customizable text and theme settings
- Text-to-speech in 31 languages
- Supports ZIP and CBZ archives
- Right-to-left reading for manga
- PDF text selection and search
- Distraction-free reading interface
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Plain Reader opens your books, PDFs, comics and image folders right where they are ā in Files, iCloud Drive, or on a USB drive or external SSD. No account, no import, no copies. READ, NOTHING ELSE ⢠Menus stay hidden while you read. Tap the center to bring them back. ⢠Pages fill the screen. Swipe, tap the sides, or drag the slider to jump anywhere. ⢠Turn your iPhone or iPad sideways for two-page spreads, with the cover on its own. ⢠Turn pages with a Bluetooth page turner or a keyboard. TXT AND EPUB ⢠Choose the font, size, line spacing, margins and theme ā pages reflow to fit. ⢠Listen: books in 31 languages are read aloud by natural voices made on your device. ⢠Table of contents, search and bookmarks. TXT text encoding is detected automatically. COMICS AND MANGA ⢠Opens ZIP and CBZ archives without unpacking them ā even ones with thousands of pages. ⢠Right-to-left reading for manga. ⢠A folder of images opens as one book. PDF ⢠Sharp pages, search, table of contents, thumbnails and text selection. ⢠Two-page spreads on wide screens. YOUR FILES STAY YOURS ⢠Files are read in place and never uploaded anywhere. ⢠Bookmarks and your reading position are kept for every book. ⢠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 ā Yearly starts with a 7-day free trial for new subscribers ā 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
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: NextPhase Reader at none against Plain Reader's shown. On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. NextPhase Reader sells 1 one-off in-app purchase 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.
| Parameter | NextPhase Reader | Plain Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | ā | 100.0% of reviews |
| Update frequency | ā | Every 3 days |
| Ads | No ā better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | ā | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 ā better | 18.0 |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 90 MB | 45 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | NextPhase LLC | OurBeom |
In-app purchases
NextPhase Reader
- NextPhase Reader Pro$29.99
Plain Reader
- Plain Reader Pro (Monthly)$0.991 Month
- Plain Reader Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$6.991 Year
- Plain Reader Pro$2.99
- Plain Reader Pro (Lifetime)$12.99





