Papers by ReadCube vs PDF Listener
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Papers by ReadCube
Manage, read, and discover research literature on your mobile devices. Annotate PDFs, organize your library with custom lists and tags, and receive personalized recommendations for new papers. Syncs seamlessly with desktop and web applications.
- Read and manage research papers
- Annotate PDFs with notes and highlights
- Organize library with custom lists and tags
- Discover new research with personalized recommendations
- Search and download articles
- Sync across devices
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ReadCube is the simplest way to read, manage and discover research literature. ReadCube on your iPhone and iPad are the perfect companions to the ReadCube web and desktop software, enabling you to access your papers anywhere – read on the go, organize your library, and annotate PDFs with notes and highlights. Enhanced PDF: • Tap-able inline citations, reference lists, and author names so you can quickly find cited articles and related information • Supplements are automatically attached where available • Fullscreen or double-page PDF viewing plus multi-touch zoom/navigation for an optimal reading experience • Multi-color highlighting and note taking tools Easily find new papers: • Search the ReadCube databases within the app • Quickly download new articles with a single tap when you’re on campus or with your institutional proxy • Import directly from Safari, email attachments, and other apps • In your preferred browser, use any search engine to find article PDFs • Use the “Open In…” option from the browser or any app to add PDFs to your ReadCube library • Metadata is automatically resolved - no more guessing with cryptic file names Personalized Recommendations: • Discover relevant new papers based on your library or lists – you’ll never miss another important paper again! Stay organized: • Create custom lists and sort articles into one or multiple lists • Quickly search your entire library (and all annotations) • Add any number of #tags to further customize your library organization • Sync everything – papers, notes, highlights – between the ReadCube desktop and web apps or your other mobile devices Simplify your research life – try ReadCube for free on your iPhone, iPad, and computer. We love feedback from our users - please email support@readcube.com with any suggestions or issues. Thanks for using ReadCube!
PDF Listener
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Listen to English papers on your iPhone or iPad. PDF Listener turns selectable text in a PDF into speech on your device. Import a paper from Files, choose where to begin, and listen at your own pace. The app is free, with no account, ads or subscription. READING THAT FOLLOWS THE PAPER • Paper mode skips common author details, references, figure captions and table captions. • Review excluded text and restore passages you want to hear. • Choose whether to read text in parentheses while keeping the full text visible. • Tap a sentence to jump to it. Sentences split across pages are joined where the document layout allows. LISTEN YOUR WAY • Choose Heart, Bella or Adam and adjust the reading speed. • Continue listening with the screen locked or while using another app. • Control an active reading session from the library and the Lock Screen. • Use an English or Korean interface with System, Light or Dark appearance. Speech is in English. LOCAL AND OFFLINE The speech models are included in the app. Reading and speech generation work without an internet connection once the PDF is available on the device. PDF Listener does not send your documents, extracted text or audio to the developer or a cloud speech service. Files stored only in a cloud provider must first be downloaded by that provider. Designed for English PDFs with selectable text. Image-only scans and locked PDFs are not supported. Complex layouts, equations and unusual notation may need manual sentence selection or Full text mode; extraction and pronunciation are not always exact. Website and support: https://pdflistener.me/ Send feedback to contact@pdflistener.me. I will review your message and do my best to help promptly.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is device support: Papers by ReadCube at 2 against PDF Listener's —. On price, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | Papers by ReadCube | PDF Listener |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.7 (558 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 48.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 558 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | — |
| Ads | No | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | — |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 79 MB | 93 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Digital Science & Research Solutions Inc. | Taewoon Kang |
Bugs and requests
Papers by ReadCube
Reported bugs
5 issues- Frequent app crashes and freezes
- Sync issues causing data loss and duplication
- Unreliable PDF downloads and access
- Inconsistent behavior of annotation tools
- Compatibility problems with newer devices and OS versions
Requested features
5 requests- Add eraser tool for handwritten annotations
- Improve PDF viewing and navigation experience
- Implement better organization and folder management
- Integrate citation and bibliography tools
- Provide more customization options
PDF Listener
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Papers by ReadCube
No in-app purchases
PDF Listener
No in-app purchases









