Comparison

PocketBook Reader vs Chorus Reader

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

Chorus Reader

Transform your documents, articles, and files into natural-sounding audiobooks. Enjoy real-time streaming and studio-quality speech synthesis entirely on your device, with no internet connection required. Choose from a variety of voices or clone your own for a personalized listening experience.

Highlights
  • On-device text-to-audiobook generation
  • Real-time audio streaming
  • Supports EPUB, PDF, text, and Markdown
  • 30+ built-in voices
  • Voice cloning and recording
  • Standard and Turbo generation modes
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

Turn anything you can read into an audiobook — narrated on your device, in a voice you choose. Even your own. Drop in an EPUB, PDF, or article. Chorus Reader detects chapters, generates natural AI narration right on your iPhone or iPad, and streams the audio as it is created. No account, no upload — your books and your voice never leave the device. LISTEN TO YOUR OWN LIBRARY • EPUB, PDF, plain text, Markdown, Word, and Pages files — even photos of pages • Share any article from Safari and it is waiting in your library • Follow RSS feeds and listen to their newest articles • Chapters detected automatically; skip, scrub, and set a sleep timer • Audio streams while it generates — start listening in seconds, keep listening in the background A BOOKSTORE, BUILT IN • The Chorus Library: more than a hundred hand-picked classics, free for every reader • Hear a sample of the actual book before you shelve it — narrated on the spot, on your device, in your chosen voice • A curated list of open-access research papers, organized by field, with the reason each one was chosen • One tap moves any of it into your library, ready to narrate PICK A VOICE — OR CLONE ONE • Standard engine (free): 40+ natural voices, narrating in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Hindi • Personal engine: clone any voice from 15 seconds of audio — yours, a friend's, a favorite narrator. English is built in; Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese download when you want them • Premium engine (on higher-memory iPhones and iPads): the most expressive narration, with multi-voice character dialogue PRIVATE BY DESIGN Narration happens on your device. There is no account, and nothing you read, record, or generate is ever uploaded — we could not see it if we wanted to. Airplane mode works fine for listening. FREE TO TRY, ONE-TIME UPGRADE The free tier includes the Standard engine, 40+ voices in six languages, audio export, the entire Chorus Library, and your first imported book. A single one-time purchase — never a subscription — unlocks every engine your device supports, voice cloning, multi-voice narration, and unlimited imports. Everything we ship later is included. WHAT READERS USE IT FOR • The half-finished novel sitting in your reading app • Textbooks and papers nobody bothered to record • Newsletters and longreads saved for "later" • Hearing drafts read back in your own voice Chorus Reader is built for the books you actually want to read.

Screenshots

PocketBook Reader4 screens
Chorus Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

PocketBook Reader and Chorus Reader both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Chorus Reader's written reviews are positive against 54% of PocketBook Reader's. Chorus Reader also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). PocketBook Reader's advantage is ratings volume (10K vs 3) and chart position (#138 vs unranked). On price, rating, 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. PocketBook Reader sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Chorus Reader sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chorus Reader holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PocketBook Reader has 10K ratings behind it against 3, 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 100% of Chorus Reader's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PocketBook Reader ships an update every 2 months, Chorus Reader weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
PocketBook Reader versus Chorus Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocketBook ReaderChorus Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (10K ratings)4.7 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews54.5% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings10K — better3
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#138 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size106 MB1.9 GB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperPocketbook International SAAleksander Allen

Customer experience

PocketBook Reader

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

Chorus Reader

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Chorus Reader

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
1 purchases

Chorus Reader

One-time1
  • Unlock Chorus$9.99

Questions

Is PocketBook Reader free?
PocketBook Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chorus Reader free?
Chorus Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PocketBook Reader or Chorus Reader?
Chorus Reader is rated higher. PocketBook Reader averages 4.5 out of 5 from 10K ratings, while Chorus Reader averages 4.7 from 3 ratings.
Do PocketBook Reader or Chorus Reader have ads?
Neither PocketBook Reader nor Chorus Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PocketBook Reader or Chorus Reader?
PocketBook Reader ships an update every 2 months, and Chorus Reader weekly. Most recently, PocketBook Reader was updated on November 5, 2026 and Chorus Reader on October 31, 2026.

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