PocketBook Reader vs CHM Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Supports 26 book and audio formats
- PDF Reflow function
- Text-to-speech engine
- Cloud synchronization service
- Customizable interface and reading settings
- Adobe DRM support
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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.
CHM Reader
This app provides a streamlined and efficient way to read CHM and TXT documents. It offers features like smart table of contents navigation, full-text search, adjustable font sizes, and night mode for a comfortable reading experience.
- Professional CHM format support
- Smart Table of Contents navigation
- Full-text search
- Adjustable font size
- Night mode
- Bookmark collection
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CHM Reader & Viewer - Professional CHM Document Reader A streamlined and efficient CHM document reader that provides you with a smooth and comfortable reading experience. Key Features: • Professional CHM Format Support - Perfect compatibility with various CHM documents, supporting multiple encoding formats • Smart Table of Contents Navigation - One-tap jump, quick content positioning • Powerful Search Function - Full-text search, instantly find the information you need • Personalized Reading - Font size adjustment, night mode • Bookmark Collection - Save important sections, offline access Designed specifically for efficient reading, making your document browsing more convenient. How to Use: After opening the app, click "+" to add CHM files and start reading. Encoding Support: Built-in encoding format toggle button in the reader menu, supports GBK, UTF-8 and other encodings, easily solve garbled text issues. Subscription Options: • Offers weekly and annual memberships, lifetime membership • Payment will be charged to your iTunes account • Auto-renewal occurs within 24 hours before subscription expires • Manage or cancel subscriptions anytime in account settings Designed specifically for efficient reading, making your document browsing more convenient. Terms of Service: https://chmreader.xzonesoft.com/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://chmreader.xzonesoft.com/privacy.html Contact Us: support@xzonesoft.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: CHM Reader at 5.0 against PocketBook Reader's 4.5. CHM Reader also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). PocketBook Reader's advantage is ratings volume (10K vs 2) and chart position (#167 vs unranked). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. PocketBook Reader sells 41 one-off in-app purchases and CHM Reader sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
CHM Reader holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PocketBook Reader has 10K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 55% of PocketBook Reader's written reviews are positive against 43% of CHM Reader's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
PocketBook Reader ships an update every 2 months, CHM Reader every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PocketBook Reader | CHM Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (10K ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 54.5% of reviews — better | 42.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 10K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | #167 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 16 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 106 MB | 19 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Pocketbook International SA | 灿耿 陈 |
Customer experience
PocketBook Reader
CHM Reader
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
CHM Reader
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
PocketBook Reader
- eBook3 variants$0.99
- eBook (class A)$0.99
- eBook2 variants$1.99
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- eBook (class B)$1.99
- eBook$2.95
- eBook2 variants$2.99
- eBook (class C)$2.99
- eBook3 variants$3.99
- eBook: type 4.79$3.99
- eBook: type 4.19$3.99
- eBook (class D)$3.99
- eBook (class Alt5)$4.99
- eBook: type 5.39$4.99
- eBook (class F)$4.99
- eBook: type 5.89$4.99
- eBook$4.99
- eBook: type 5.09$4.99
- eBook (class G)$5.99
- eBook2 variants$5.99
- eBook: type 7.09$5.99
- eBook: type 7.19$5.99
- eBook: type 8.29$6.99
- eBook: type 7.59$6.99
- eBook3 variants$7.99
- eBook: type 8.89$7.99
- eBook (class J)$8.99
- eBook$8.99
- eBook$9.90
- eBook2 variants$9.99
- eBook (class L)$10.99
- eBook: type 13.9$11.90
- eBook$11.99
- eBook: type 12.99$11.99
- eBook$12.99
- eBook (class N)$12.99
- eBook (class O)$13.99
- eBook: type 17.9$14.90
- eBook$14.99
- eBook (class R)$16.99
- eBook (class T)$18.99
- eBook (class W)$21.99
CHM Reader
- Weekly members$1.997 Days
- Annual Subscription$4.991 Year
- Lifetime Membership$6.99









