Must Read vs LocalReader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Must Read
Track your reading progress, time sessions with live activities, and discover new books. Access a vast library of classic eBooks and audiobooks with PRO. Organize your library with custom lists and detailed reading statistics.
- Track reading progress
- Live Activity reading timer
- Detailed reading statistics
- Access to 74,000+ classic eBooks
- Access to 18,000+ audiobooks
- Customizable reading lists
- Book discovery and recommendations
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Must Read keeps your whole reading life in one place. Track every book, time your reading, read and listen to classics, and find your next book on shelves picked by our editors. Build a reading habit, clear your TBR pile, or discover your next favorite book. Sign in and your library is with you on all your devices. TRACK YOUR BOOKS - Add books with the barcode scanner, or search by title, author or ISBN - Organize by status: Want to Read, Reading, Completed, Did Not Finish - Track pages, or time for audiobooks, and mark each book as physical, ebook or audiobook - Write notes and reviews, and rate books with quarter-star precision - Make your own lists, with regular books and classics together - Import from Goodreads, StoryGraph, Book Tracker, Reading List or Booklog, or any CSV file with titles and authors, and see a preview first READ YOUR OWN EBOOKS - Bring your own EPUB and PDF files from Files, AirDrop or other apps - They wait in Imported books, kept on this device READING TIMER AND LIVE ACTIVITY - Start a timer when you sit down to read, with a goal of 15, 30 or 60 minutes, or your own - Follow it on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island - See pages per session and your reading speed, and build streaks - Set reading reminders for each day of the week APPLE WATCH - Start a session from your wrist and set your page with the Digital Crown - Your current read and your streak on the watch face ASK MUST READ - Not sure what to read next? Pick a mood, like Short and quick or Finish what you started, and get one pick from your own shelf and our editors' lists WIDGETS - Currently Reading widgets in every Home Screen size, plus the Lock Screen - Streak widget: this week's reading days and today's pages - Choose which books your widgets show, and in what order READING STATS - Reading DNA: your reader archetype, favorite time of day, top genres and pace - Books, pages, hours and reading speed, this year and all time - Reading calendar with daily covers and streaks - Yearly reading goal with weekly progress DISCOVER BOOKS - Shelves picked by our editors, with lists for many countries - Similar books on book pages, drawn from shared authors and genres - Browse 27 genres, or tap a genre or author on any book - Point your camera at a book with Visual Intelligence (on iPhones with Apple Intelligence) CLASSICS LIBRARY - Public domain eBooks from Project Gutenberg and audiobooks from LibriVox - Built-in reader with fonts, themes, bookmarks and a Contents list that marks your chapter SIRI AND SHORTCUTS (iOS 26 and later) - Ask what you're reading, your top-rated books, your stats or your streak - Add, finish and rate books by voice MUST READ CARD AND FRIENDS - Add your Must Read card to Apple Wallet and keep your reading at a glance - Invite friends with your code: you each get 5 more books on the free plan SHARE YOUR READING - My bookshelf: share your library as a picture of a bookcase - Share cards for any book: Colorful, Minimal, Dark, or your own color or photo FIND AND BUY BOOKS - Links to bookshops such as Bookshop.org, Amazon and Apple Books, depending on your country Made for iPhone, iPad, iPhone Duo and Apple Watch. --- Must Read Pro unlocks unlimited books, reading timer on all books, unlimited lists and the full classics library. - Monthly: $4.99/month - Yearly: $29.99/year (7-day free trial) - Lifetime: $79.99 (one-time purchase) - Family Sharing supported Free: 10 books, 1 custom list, timer on 1 book, 1 classic eBook, 1 audiobook, reading reminders, full search and explore. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions in your Apple ID account settings. Privacy Policy: https://mustreadapp.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://mustreadapp.com/terms
LocalReader
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Turn any document into a personal audio reading experience — powered by on-device speech. LocalReader reads PDFs, EPUBs, web articles, and plain text aloud using Apple's built-in speech engine. Your reading text stays private on your device. ◆ HIGH-QUALITY SYSTEM VOICES Choose from Apple's Neural speech voices across multiple languages. 8 curated voice profiles are ready out of the box, with access to all system voices installed on your device. ◆ ON-DEVICE PRIVACY Document text and speech synthesis stay on your device. Works in Airplane Mode. Only purchase verification and basic product analytics use network connections. ◆ ADJUSTABLE SPEED (0.5x – 3.0x) Adjust reading cadence from steady study pace to rapid review with per-document memory. ◆ SYNCHRONIZED WORD HIGHLIGHTING Follow along as active sentences and words are highlighted at up to 120Hz on ProMotion displays. ◆ MULTI-FORMAT SUPPORT Read PDFs, EPUBs, web articles, and text notes. Share from Safari, Files, or paste text directly. ◆ SIRI & ECOSYSTEM INTEGRATION Resume reading via Siri voice shortcuts, view status on your Lock Screen, or listen on the road with CarPlay. Free: Starter voices and daily free listening time. Premium unlocks full library features. Terms of Use: https://localreader.plancodeship.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://localreader.plancodeship.com/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
Must Read and LocalReader are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
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. Must Read sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and LocalReader sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | Must Read | LocalReader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (20 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 48.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 20 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 89 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Stanislav Rastvorov | Amit Saharana |
In-app purchases
Must Read
- Must Read Pro (Monthly)$4.991 Month
- Must Read Pro (Annual)7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Must Read Pro Lifetime$49.99
LocalReader
- Spanish Voice Pack$2.99
- French Voice Pack$2.99
- Hindi Voice Pack$2.99
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- Italian Voice Pack$2.99
- Portuguese Voice Pack$2.99
- Japanese Voice Pack$3.99
- Chinese Voice Pack$3.99
- All Languages Bundle$14.99
- Lifetime Access$149.99








