Comparison

PocketBook Reader vs Kortext

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

Head to head
About

PocketBook Reader

This app is a versatile reader supporting 26 book and audio formats, including EPUB, PDF, and audiobooks. It offers features like PDF reflow, text-to-speech, cloud synchronization, and extensive customization options for a comfortable reading experience.

Highlights
  • Supports 26 book and audio formats
  • PDF Reflow function
  • Text-to-speech engine
  • Cloud synchronization service
  • Customizable interface and reading settings
  • Adobe DRM support
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

PocketBook Reader is a free app for reading all formats (books, magazines, textbooks, comic books, etc.) and listening to audiobooks! The application supports 26 book and audio formats, including mobi, epub, fb2, cbz, cbr. Read without ads and with total comfort! Choose any content - any format! • Support of 19 book formats, including the most popular - EPUB, FB2, MOBI, PDF, DJVU, DOCX, RTF, TXT, HTML; • Comic book formats CBR and CBZ; • Open books protected with Adobe DRM (PDF, EPUB); • PDF Reflow function (reflow text in PDF files). Listen to audiobooks! • You can listen to audiobooks and other audio files in MP3, M4B, and take notes in them; • Built-in TTS (Text-to-speech) engine for the voicing of the text files. Download and sync content easily! • Free PocketBook Cloud service for synchronizing all your books, including audiobooks, as well as reading positions, notes and bookmarks on all your devices; • Your files from Dropbox or Google Books services are easily connected to the app to create one consolidated library. You can even connect multiple accounts at the same time; • Support for OPDS catalogs - get access to network libraries; • ISBN scanner, for quick search of electronic versions of books by barcode; • Opportunity to borrow books and periodicals; • If you have a E Ink e-reader PocketBook, you can easily synchronize all your books and accounts just by scanning a QR code. Ready to switch from another app? No problem! Getting started with PocketBook Reader is easy! With an intuitive interface, the application provides you with unprecedented freedom – lots of options for settings and no restrictions. Choose, change, customize, and personalize! • Intuitive interface, easy navigation, and minimalistic design; • Opportunity to choose one of the seven interface color themes, reassign the buttons and display areas; • Two night-reading modes - for better reading comfort anytime; • Adjust the font style, font size, line spacing, and margin size; • Animation of turning pages; • Opportunity to crop margins – make the page look exactly the way you want. Get fast file access and easy search! • All files are quickly found and instantly opened, even with built-in audio and video fragments; • Your books will never be lost in the device’s memory - thanks to the smart search, scanning files on your tablet or smartphone is a matter of seconds. Any file or document can be found in a few clicks! • The app allows you to sort books, create collections, filter and mark files as you like. Your library - your rules; • Convenient managing of audio files - it is easy to sort and play your audiobooks. Make bookmarks, take notes, add comments! • You can quickly find all your notes and share them with friends via email or messengers; • Collect all your notes, bookmarks, and comments into separate files for even greater convenience. PocketBook Reader was created by avid readers for avid readers, and that’s why it’s probably the best e-book reader app.

About

Kortext

Access and read eBooks from various publishers with enhanced multimedia. Tools are included to help learners and academics engage with their content, offering features like note-taking, referencing, and text-to-speech.

Highlights
  • Read PDF and EPUB files
  • Access 13,000+ free eTextbooks
  • Highlight text and create notes
  • Add Harvard/APA references
  • Read Aloud functionality
  • Adjust text size and background
  • Search within books
  • 500MB free cloud storage
Currently charting
Read full description

Kortext provides access to online eBooks from multiple publishers, with enhanced in-built audio and video content, combined with tools to assist learners and academics to make the most of their content. Features include: - Add and read PDF/EPUB files from your iPhone and iPad - Enjoy free access to a collection of over 13,000 eTextbooks - Easy navigation to content, providing quick access to pages - Highlight text in a range of colours and create notes, enabling quick reference of key sections - Add a reference (Harvard or APA), making creation of bibliographies much easier - Read Aloud sections, providing help with accessing content - Increase text size, change font and background of pages making it easier to view content - Search for keywords and phrases within the books directly from your bookshelf, allowing quicker access to relevant content - 500MB of free cloud file storage. Simply upload your study materials and harness the full potential within

Screenshots

PocketBook Reader4 screens
Kortext4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: PocketBook Reader at 4.5 against Kortext's 3.9. PocketBook Reader also leads on review sentiment (54% vs 17%) and ratings volume (10K vs 1.5K). Kortext's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10). On price, update cadence, ads and chart position 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. PocketBook Reader sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Kortext asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PocketBook Reader holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PocketBook Reader has 10K ratings behind it against 1.5K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 54% of PocketBook Reader's written reviews are positive against 17% of Kortext's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
PocketBook Reader versus Kortext: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocketBook ReaderKortext
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (10K ratings) — better3.9 (1.5K ratings)
Positive reviews54.5% of reviews — better17.4% of reviews
Number of ratings10K — better1.5K
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#166 — better#203
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size106 MB38 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperPocketbook International SAKortext

Customer experience

PocketBook Reader

All ratings9,831 ratings
Positive87.4%
Neutral3.9%
Negative8.7%
Written reviews1,364 reviews
Positive54.5%
Neutral11.7%
Negative33.9%

Kortext

All ratings1,339 ratings
Positive69.8%
Neutral6.2%
Negative24.0%
Written reviews374 reviews
Positive17.4%
Neutral7.2%
Negative75.4%

User reviews

PocketBook Reader

From 10K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Convenient reading experience
  • 🚀 Smooth scrolling
  • 💡 Customizable settings (font, margin, etc.)
  • 🔒 Supports DRM-protected content
  • 👍 Intuitive user interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 🐛 Unreliable cloud sync
  • 🐛 Inconsistent page rendering
  • 🐛 Buggy text highlighting and annotation
  • 🐛 Slow loading times

Kortext

From 1.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 💡 Helpful features like highlighting and note-taking
  • 👍 Convenient to access textbooks on the go
  • 🚀 Efficient for studying

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🐛 Unreliable performance
  • 🐛 Overlapping text and pages
  • 🐛 Inconsistent navigation and page turning
  • 🐛 Laggy and slow

Bugs and requests

PocketBook Reader

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Books disappearing from library after login issues
  • Inability to open DRM-protected PDFs
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between portrait and landscape modes
  • Text-to-speech voice quality issues

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to organize books into custom folders
  • Option to disable quick action zones
  • Improved text-to-speech controls (seek, pause, etc.)
  • Support for handwritten annotations with Apple Pencil
  • Faster page turning and scrolling

Kortext

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Frequent crashes and freezes
  • Pages not loading properly
  • Highlighting and annotations not saving
  • Login issues and inability to access content

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved text-to-speech functionality
  • Better organization and navigation of content
  • Ability to customize text size and layout
  • Syncing across multiple devices
  • Offline reading mode

In-app purchases

10 purchases

PocketBook Reader

One-time10
  • eBook$0.99
  • eBook (class A)$0.99
  • eBook (class B)$1.99
Show 7 more
  • eBook$2.99
  • eBook (class D)$3.99
  • eBook: type 7.09$5.99
  • eBook$6.99
  • eBook: type 10.9$9.90
  • eBook$9.99
  • eBook: type 12.99$11.99
None

Kortext

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PocketBook Reader free?
PocketBook Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Kortext free?
Kortext is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PocketBook Reader or Kortext?
PocketBook Reader is rated higher. PocketBook Reader averages 4.5 out of 5 from 10K ratings, while Kortext averages 3.9 from 1.5K ratings.
Do PocketBook Reader or Kortext have ads?
Neither PocketBook Reader nor Kortext shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PocketBook Reader or Kortext?
PocketBook Reader ships an update every 2 months, and Kortext every 2 months. Most recently, PocketBook Reader was updated on November 7, 2026 and Kortext on November 6, 2026.
Which is more popular, PocketBook Reader or Kortext?
PocketBook Reader currently peaks at #166 in the App Store charts, and Kortext at #203. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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