# justRead vs Anx Reader: open source on phone and desktop, or built for the iPhone Anx Reader costs less, runs on more devices and its code is public. justRead is for iPhone and iPad only and adds iCloud sync, widgets, comics and audiobooks. Checked 2026-10-28. Canonical page: https://justread.app/en/compare/justread-vs-anx-reader ## Which should you pick? - **Anx Reader**: you also read on Android, Windows or a Mac, want WebDAV sync, want AI chat on your own key, or want the lowest price. The store build asks for $4.99 once, after a 7-day trial. - **justRead**: you read on an iPhone or iPad and want iCloud sync, home-screen widgets, comics, audiobooks or a Calibre library. It costs more: $79.99 once, after a 14-day trial. ## One reader for phone and desktop, one for the iPhone Both are ebook readers with notes, statistics and read aloud. They differ in where they run and in what they do around the book. Anx Reader is an open-source reader for Android, iOS, macOS and Windows. It opens six book formats, keeps reading statistics and syncs over WebDAV. Its AI assistant works with an API key you supply. justRead runs on iPhone and iPad only. It opens books, comics and audiobooks and syncs through iCloud. It adds widgets, a Control Center control, Shortcuts and CarPlay. Three things set them apart on an iPhone: the price after the trial, how the library syncs, and what sits on the home screen. The rows below show each. ## What each app costs Anx Reader is the cheaper app. The store says Free, but there is a trial and then a purchase. ### Anx Reader: free for 7 days, then $4.99 once The store price line says Free with in-app purchases. The app starts a 7-day trial. When it ends, tapping a book opens the purchase screen and the book stays shut. The one purchase is called Permanent Full Access and costs $4.99 in the US store. [1][2][3] ### The paywall is only in store builds The paywall is switched on only in builds made for the App Store or Google Play. The code on GitHub is MIT licensed. [4][5] ### Early users keep access People who installed an early version keep access without paying. The app calls them early users. [6] ### justRead: free for 14 days, then paid justRead costs $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year or $79.99 once, after a 14-day trial. That is more than Anx Reader's $4.99 once. [7][8] ### Both work with Family Sharing Anx Reader's purchase supports Family Sharing. So do justRead's subscription and its lifetime purchase. [1][8] ## justRead and Anx Reader, row by row A Yes or No always has a source. Click a mark to see it. | What matters | justRead | Anx Reader | | --- | --- | --- | | Price after the trial | $79.99 once. A 14-day trial, then $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year or $79.99 once. [7][8] | $4.99 once. A 7-day trial, then one purchase called Permanent Full Access at $4.99 in the US store. [1][2] | | Family Sharing | Yes. Covers the subscription and the lifetime purchase. [8] | Yes. The store listing supports Family Sharing for in-app purchases. [1] | | iPhone and iPad | Yes. Runs on iPhone and iPad. [8] | Yes. The store text promises one experience across iPhone, iPad and Mac. [9] | | Android, Windows and Mac | No. iPhone and iPad only. Mac Catalyst and Designed for iPad on Mac are switched off. [8] | Yes. The README lists Android, iOS, macOS and Windows. [10] | | Oldest iOS | iOS 18.1 [8][11] | iOS 15.2 [1] | | EPUB and PDF | Yes. EPUB reflows in the Readium reader. PDF opens through PDFKit. [8] | Yes. Both are on the README's list of fully supported formats. [10] | | MOBI, AZW3, FB2 and TXT | No. The import list holds no MOBI, AZW3, FB2 or TXT entry. [8] | Yes. The code accepts epub, mobi, azw3, fb2, txt and pdf, and nothing else. [3] | | Comics (CBZ and CBR) | Yes. CBZ opens as a fixed-layout reader. CBR is repacked into CBZ on import. [8] | No. The code accepts six file types and CBZ and CBR are not among them. [3] | | Audiobooks | Yes. Plays m4b, m4a, mp3, aac and flac with a chapter list and speeds from 0.75x to 2x. [8] | No. The book importer accepts six file types and none of them is audio. [3] | | Read aloud | Yes. Apple voices read an EPUB aloud and highlight the sentence. Two sets of downloadable voices run on the device. PDFs are not read aloud. [8] | Yes. Several voices, speed, tone and a sleep timer. The source holds backends for the system voice, Azure, OpenAI and Aliyun. [10][12] | | Reading statistics | Yes. A Statistics tab with a goal calendar heatmap, reading speed and recap pages. A daily goal, a pages goal, a yearly books goal and a streak. [8] | Yes. The README lists statistics with a heatmap of reading habits. [10] | | Translation | Selected text. Translates a selected passage with Apple's on-device Translation. [8] | Whole book. The README lists full-book translation with a side-by-side view. [10] | | AI assistant | On the device. Explain, Who's This, Catch Me Up and Highlights Digest run with Apple Intelligence. They need iOS 26 and a device where it is switched on. [8] | Your own API key. AI chat, mind maps, a shelf organiser and a dictionary run on a key you supply. Chat messages and selected text go to the provider you set up. [10][9][13] | | Custom fonts | Yes. Imports ttf and otf files, or a zip of fonts. [8] | Yes. The font picker accepts ttf and otf files. [14] | | Highlights and notes | Yes. Highlights from a selection in EPUB and PDF, with notes. [8] | Yes. Notes with colour presets, filters and shareable cards. [10] | | Export notes | Markdown, PDF, Readwise. Markdown and PDF files, and Readwise, automatically when a book closes. [8] | TXT, Markdown, CSV. The README lists export to TXT, Markdown and CSV. [10] | | iCloud sync | Yes. Position, bookmarks, highlights, finished state, covers, settings and fonts. [8] | No. The iOS entitlements list an app group and nothing about iCloud. [15] | | WebDAV sync | No. justRead syncs through iCloud, a KOReader sync server, Grimmory, BookOrbit and a Calibre server. [8] | Yes. Books, notes and reading progress sync over WebDAV. [10] | | Calibre | Yes. Imports from a Calibre content server and syncs highlights, notes and bookmarks both ways. [8] | Community projects. The README links two community Calibre projects and says they are not officially supported. [10] | | OPDS catalogs | Yes. Project Gutenberg is built in, and books download from any OPDS catalog. [8] | In progress [10] | | Widgets | Yes. Five home-screen widgets and five lock-screen widgets, plus a Control Center control. [8] | No. The iOS project has one app extension, a share extension, and none for widgets. [16] | | Shortcuts and Siri | Yes. Exposes App Intents for Shortcuts and Siri. [8] | No. The iOS project has no App Intents or Siri extension. [16] | | CarPlay | Yes. Plays audiobooks and Read Aloud in CarPlay as an audio app. [8] | No. The iOS project has no CarPlay support. [16] | | Analytics | None. Uses no analytics, and has no analytics framework in the app. [8] | None. The store privacy label reads Data Not Collected. [1] | Every Anx Reader cell was re-read on 28 October 2026. ## Goals and streaks in justRead Both apps track your reading. justRead adds goals and a streak. Anx Reader lists statistics with a heatmap of your reading habits. justRead has a daily goal, a pages goal and a yearly books goal, and a streak that forgives one missed day a month. ## Where Anx Reader is the better pick Nine places where Anx Reader is better. ### It costs less $4.99 once, after a 7-day trial, against justRead's $79.99 once after 14 days. justRead also sells a $4.99 monthly plan and a $29.99 yearly one. [1][2][7] ### It runs beyond iPhone and iPad The README lists Android, iOS, macOS and Windows. justRead is iPhone and iPad only. [10][8] ### More book formats It opens MOBI, AZW3, FB2 and TXT as well as EPUB and PDF. justRead has no import for MOBI, AZW3, FB2 or TXT. [3][8] ### WebDAV sync Books, notes and reading progress sync over WebDAV, so anyone with a WebDAV server can keep the library there. justRead has no WebDAV. [10][8] ### AI chat on a model you choose Chat, mind maps and a dictionary run on an API key you supply. The 1.14.0 release adds a settings page for OpenAI, Claude and Gemini. justRead's assistant runs on the device, so it needs iOS 26 and a device with Apple Intelligence. [10][9][8] ### Cloud voices for read aloud Its text to speech reaches Azure, OpenAI and Aliyun voices as well as the system voice, and the README lists a sleep timer. justRead reads with Apple's voices and two sets of voices that run on the device. [10][12][8] ### Whole-book translation It translates a full book with a side-by-side view. justRead translates a passage you select. [10][8] ### Older iPhones It needs iOS 15.2 or later. justRead needs iOS 18.1. [1][8][11] ### Public code The code is MIT licensed, so you can read it, fork it and build it yourself. [5] ## Where justRead is the better pick Six places where justRead is better. ### iCloud sync Position, bookmarks, highlights, finished state, covers, settings and fonts follow you across devices. Anx Reader's iOS entitlements list an app group and nothing about iCloud. [8][15] ### Widgets, Control Center, Shortcuts and CarPlay Five home-screen widgets, five lock-screen widgets, a Control Center control that continues your book, Siri and Shortcuts, and CarPlay for audiobooks and Read Aloud. The Anx Reader iOS project has one app extension, a share extension. [8][16] ### Comics and audiobooks CBZ and CBR comics open in a fixed-layout reader. Audiobooks play with chapters and speeds from 0.75x to 2x. Anx Reader accepts six file types and neither is one of them. [8][3] ### Calibre and OPDS Highlights, notes and bookmarks sync both ways with a Calibre server, and Project Gutenberg is built in as an OPDS catalog. Anx Reader links community Calibre projects and marks OPDS as in progress. [8][10] ### An assistant that stays on the device Explain, Who's This and Catch Me Up run with Apple Intelligence, and nothing you read leaves the device. They need iOS 26 and a device where it is on. Anx Reader sends chat messages and selected text to the AI provider you set up. [8][13] ### Readwise Highlights export to Readwise by themselves when you close a book. Anx Reader's dependency list has no Readwise package. [8][17] ## How to move from Anx Reader to justRead Your books are files, so nothing is locked in. ### Find your original book files Use the files you added to Anx Reader in the first place. MOBI, AZW3, FB2 and TXT files need converting to EPUB first, for example with Calibre, because justRead does not import them. [3][8] ### Export your notes Anx Reader exports notes to TXT, Markdown and CSV. Do that for each book you marked up and keep the file as a reference. [10] ### Add the books to justRead Open them from the Files app, point justRead at a folder in iCloud Drive, or drop them onto the iPad. justRead can read a book in place from a folder you chose, without copying it. [8] ### Set up sync Turn on iCloud, or connect a Calibre server or an OPDS catalog if your library lives on one. [8] ### Try it before you pay The app starts with a 14-day free trial, so you can test it on your own books first. [8] Note the page you are on in each book first, because reading positions stay inside the app that made them. ## What Anx Reader's users say Five App Store reviews from the US store, quoted as written. One is translated from Chinese. > it gives you WebDAV cloud sync method and AI Services needs you self configure. but it works perfectly in my workflow 10/10 > > App Store review, 5 stars, version 1.12.0, US, 11 March 2026 > Quit importing stuff to reduce space - just use existing directory: - how hard is this? This app has an excellent potential. > > App Store review, 1 star, version 1.11.0, US, 22 February 2026 > After the trial period it cannot be used at all. > > App Store review, 1 star, version 1.6.2, US, translated from Chinese, 13 September 2025 > Need support for a toggle to quickly enable audio. Currently, turning on audio requires several steps, which is quite inconvenient. > > App Store review, 5 stars, version 1.6.1, US, 1 July 2025 > Great app to read along with AI > > App Store review, 5 stars, version 1.14.0, US, 1 August 2026 ## Anx Reader questions ### Is Anx Reader free? The App Store lists it as Free with in-app purchases. The app starts a 7-day trial, and after that one purchase of $4.99 in the US store unlocks it for good. The paywall is only in store builds. [1][2][4] ### Is Anx Reader open source? Yes. The code is on GitHub under the MIT licence. The README says the book renderer is foliate-js, which is MIT licensed too, and that the project moved from MIT to GPLv3 and back to MIT after version 1.2.6. [5][10] ### Does Anx Reader sync with iCloud? No. Its sync runs over WebDAV, and the iOS entitlements list an app group and nothing about iCloud. [10][15] ### Does Anx Reader have widgets on iPhone? No. The iOS project has one app extension, a share extension, and nothing for widgets, App Intents, Siri or CarPlay. [16] ### Can Anx Reader open CBZ comics? No. The code accepts six file types: epub, mobi, azw3, fb2, txt and pdf. [3] ### Does Anx Reader send my books to an AI service? Only text you choose to send. The privacy policy says chat messages and selected text go to the AI provider you configured, and that Anx Reader itself does not collect, store or process personal data. [13] ### Is Anx Reader still updated? The App Store version, 1.14.0, is dated 19 March 2026. On 17 October 2026 the maintainer wrote that the project is active again and is not being abandoned. [1][19] ### Does Anx Reader work with Calibre? The README links two community projects for Calibre, a plugin and a web library manager, and says they are not officially supported. justRead connects to a Calibre server itself. [10][8] ### Is justRead a good Anx Reader alternative? If you read only on iPhone and iPad, yes. It adds iCloud sync, widgets, comics and audiobooks, and it costs more. If you also read on Android or Windows, Anx Reader is the one that follows you there. [8][10] ## Other readers worth a look If neither app fits, these four have a page of their own. ### Yomu: a $7.99 one-time price and a Mac app Yomu Pro costs $7.99 once and works on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Yomu opens EPUB, Mobi, Kindle and PDF files, and CBZ and CBR comics. See [justRead vs Yomu](https://justread.app/en/compare/justread-vs-yomu). [20][21] ### Readest: free sync on desktop and phone Readest is open source, and its Free plan syncs library, progress, highlights and notes across devices. It runs on macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, iOS and the web. See [justRead vs Readest](https://justread.app/en/compare/justread-vs-readest). [22][23][24] ### KyBook 3: DjVu, FB2 and RTF files KyBook 3 opens DjVu, FB2, RTF and CBT comics as well as EPUB and PDF, and it needs only iOS 11.0 or later. Its newest release is dated 23 February 2019. See [justRead vs KyBook 3](https://justread.app/en/compare/justread-vs-kybook-3). [25][26][27] ### BookFusion: one library on web, iOS and Android BookFusion reads on the web, iOS and Android, and has an E Ink mode for Android tablets. Plans start at $1.99 a month and the pricing page shows no one-time purchase. See [justRead vs BookFusion](https://justread.app/en/compare/justread-vs-bookfusion). [28][29] ## Try it on your own books Add EPUB, PDF or comic files and see the library, the widgets and iCloud sync. The app starts with a 14-day free trial. ## How we checked justRead.app makes justRead. Every justRead cell comes from the app's source code at the 5.6 release. Anx Reader's cells come from its source code at the v1.14.0 tag, which is the version on the App Store, and from its store listing, privacy policy and release notes, all re-read on 28 October 2026. The default branch on GitHub is ahead of the store, so we read the tag. We did not install Anx Reader or test it on a device. Its lines describe what the code and the developer say, not how the app behaves for you. Prices change. Anx Reader's is the US storefront price on 28 October 2026. justRead's comes from its own site. The reviews come from the US App Store feed and are quoted as written. ## Sources 1. Anx Reader, App Store listing (US): price, in-app purchase, iOS version, languages, rating (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anx-reader/id6743196413), accessed 2026-10-28. 2. Anx Reader source, in-app purchase module at v1.14.0 (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Anxcye/anx-reader/v1.14.0/lib/service/iap/iap_service.dart), accessed 2026-10-28. 3. Anx Reader source, book import code at v1.14.0 (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Anxcye/anx-reader/v1.14.0/lib/service/book.dart), accessed 2026-10-28. 4. Anx Reader source, build flags at v1.14.0 (which builds carry the paywall) (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Anxcye/anx-reader/v1.14.0/lib/utils/env_var.dart), accessed 2026-10-28. 5. 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Anx Reader README at the v1.14.0 tag (the version on the App Store) (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Anxcye/anx-reader/v1.14.0/README.md), accessed 2026-10-28. 11. justRead, App Store listing (US): version 5.6, minimum iOS and last update (https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6757948605?pt=128143318&ct=home-hero&mt=8), accessed 2026-10-28. 12. Anx Reader source tree at v1.14.0, text to speech backends (https://github.com/Anxcye/anx-reader/tree/v1.14.0), accessed 2026-10-28. 13. Anx Reader privacy policy (https://anx.anxcye.com/privacy.html), accessed 2026-10-28. 14. Anx Reader source, font import at v1.14.0 (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Anxcye/anx-reader/v1.14.0/lib/service/font.dart), accessed 2026-10-28. 15. Anx Reader iOS entitlements at v1.14.0 (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Anxcye/anx-reader/v1.14.0/ios/Runner/Runner.entitlements), accessed 2026-10-28. 16. 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