# justRead vs Readest: free and open source on desktop and phone, or built for the iPhone Readest is free with sync, open source and on desktop, phone and web. justRead is iPhone and iPad only and adds lock-screen widgets, Shortcuts, goals and an assistant that runs on the device. Checked 2026-10-28. Canonical page: https://justread.app/en/compare/justread-vs-readest ## Which should you pick? - **Readest**: you want free sync, open source code, one app on Android, Windows and Mac too, more book formats or whole-book translation. - **justRead**: you read on an iPhone or iPad and want home and lock-screen widgets, Shortcuts, reading goals, CBR comics or voices that run on the device. It costs more: $79.99 once, after a 14-day trial. ## The free reader for desktop and phone, and the one made for the iPhone Both are capable ebook readers. They differ in what they cost, where they run and how deep they go on iPhone. Readest is an open-source reader for macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, iOS and the web. It is free with sync, and its paid plans add storage, premium voices and sync through your own cloud. justRead runs on iPhone and iPad only. It costs more, and it goes further on the phone: widgets on the home and lock screens, Shortcuts, goals and streaks, comics and an assistant that runs on the device. Several Readest features that sound free sit behind a paid plan or a one-time unlock. The cost section and the matrix below name each one. ## What each app costs Readest is free to start and has paid extras. justRead has a trial, then a paywall. ### Readest: free, with sync The Free plan includes sync of library, progress, highlights and notes, 500 MB of cloud storage and 10,000 characters of AI translation a day. The App Store lists the app as Free with in-app purchases. [1][2] ### Readest: what the paid plans add Plus costs $4.99 a month and Pro costs $9.99 a month. Full Customization is a one-time $19.99. It unlocks sync through your own storage such as WebDAV or iCloud Drive, offline read-aloud audio and Audiobookshelf offline downloads. [1] ### Readest: extra storage Extra cloud storage is sold as lifetime packs, from $9.99 for 1 GB to $49.99 for 10 GB. When a plan lapses, sync through third-party storage pauses. [1][3] ### 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. Readest's Plus plan is the same $4.99 a month, and Readest also has a free plan. [4][5][1] ## justRead and Readest, row by row A Yes or No always has a source. Click a mark to see it. | What matters | justRead | Readest | | --- | --- | --- | | Price | $79.99 once. A 14-day trial, then $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year or $79.99 once. [4][5] | Free. A free plan with sync. Plus is $4.99 a month and Pro is $9.99 a month. A one-time Full Customization unlock costs $19.99. [1][2] | | What the free version holds | 14-day trial. After it, a paywall. [5] | Sync and storage. The Free plan includes sync of library, progress, highlights and notes, 500 MB of cloud storage and 10,000 characters of AI translation a day. [1] | | Android, Windows, Mac, Linux and web | No. iPhone and iPad only. Mac Catalyst and Designed for iPad on Mac are switched off. [5] | Yes. The README lists macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, iOS and the Web. [6] | | Oldest iOS | iOS 18.1 [5] | iOS 16.4 [2] | | EPUB and PDF | Yes [5] | Yes [6] | | MOBI, AZW3, FB2 and TXT | No. The import list holds no MOBI, AZW3, FB2 or TXT entry. [5] | Yes. The README lists MOBI, KF8 (AZW3), FB2, TXT, HTML and Markdown as supported. [6] | | Comics | CBZ and CBR. CBZ opens as a fixed-layout reader. CBR is repacked into CBZ on import. [5] | CBZ only. The format table lists cbz and no cbr. [7] | | Audiobooks | Plays files. Plays m4b, m4a, mp3, aac and flac with a chapter list and speeds from 0.75x to 2x. [5] | Read-along. Pairs a human-narrated audiobook with an EPUB as read-along audio. Pairing works with EPUB only. [8] | | Audiobookshelf | Downloads. Connects to a self-hosted Audiobookshelf server and downloads its books, without streaming. [5] | Streams. Streams audiobooks and podcasts from a self-hosted Audiobookshelf server. Offline downloads need the Full Customization unlock. [3][1] | | Read-aloud voices | On the device. Apple voices read an EPUB aloud, and two sets of downloadable voices run on the device. PDFs are not read aloud. [5] | Cloud by default. Edge TTS, a cloud voice, is the default whenever the device is online. It sends the current sentence to Microsoft's servers. On iOS the on-device voices are Apple's. [8] | | Premium and custom voices | Two voice sets. Kokoro and Supertonic voices download to the device. [5] | Subscription. Readest Voice premium voices come with a subscription only. A custom OpenAI-compatible or local service needs a paid plan or Full Customization. [8] | | 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. [5] | Time and pages. Logs reading time and pages read in a KOReader-compatible database. A search of the source finds no heatmap, reading goal, daily goal or reading streak. The README lists advanced stats as being built. [3][6][9][10][11][12][13] | | Apple Intelligence | Yes. Explain, Who's This and Catch Me Up run with Apple Intelligence. They need iOS 26 and a device where it is switched on. [5] | No. A search of the source finds no Apple Intelligence and no FoundationModels, Apple's on-device model framework. [14][15][13] | | Translation | Selected text. Translates a selected passage with Apple's on-device Translation. [5] | Whole book. A translation mode translates paragraphs inline. [16] | | Custom fonts | Yes. Imports ttf and otf files, or a zip of fonts. [5] | Yes. Custom fonts can be ttf, otf, ttc or woff2 files. [17] | | Drawing on the page | No. justRead does not draw ink on a page. [5] | Yes. You can draw on the page with a finger, stylus or Apple Pencil. [18] | | Dictionaries | Dictionary sheet. A dictionary sheet with an extra Wikipedia source. [5] | Custom dictionaries. Custom dictionaries include Yomitan bundles. [6] | | Readwise and Hardcover | Yes. Exports highlights to Readwise, automatically when a book closes, and syncs status and rating with Hardcover. [5] | Yes. The docs list Readwise export, Hardcover tracking, Pagebound and Notion export. [3] | | Built-in cloud sync | iCloud. Syncs position, bookmarks, highlights, finished state, covers, settings and fonts. [5] | Readest Cloud. Syncs library, progress, highlights and notes on the Free plan. It starts with signing in to a Readest account. [1][3] | | iCloud Drive, WebDAV and S3 | iCloud only. Syncs through iCloud, a KOReader sync server, Grimmory, BookOrbit and a Calibre server. [5] | Paid unlock. iCloud Drive, WebDAV, Google Drive, OneDrive and S3 sync need Plus, Pro or the one-time Full Customization unlock. When a plan lapses, that sync pauses. [1][3] | | Calibre | Two-way sync. Imports from a Calibre content server and syncs highlights, notes and bookmarks both ways. [5] | Manual push. The Calibre plugin pushes picked books into the Readest cloud library by hand. Nothing uploads in the background. [19] | | Read a book in place | Yes. Reads a book from the folder you chose in Files without copying it. [5] | Yes. Reads a book in place from a registered folder instead of copying it. [19] | | Widgets | Ten. Five home-screen widgets and five lock-screen widgets, plus a Control Center control. [5] | One. A single static widget in small, medium and large sizes, with no lock-screen widgets. [20][19] | | Shortcuts and Siri | Yes. Exposes App Intents for Shortcuts and Siri. [5] | No. A search of the source finds no AppIntent, and the Xcode project has no Siri reference. [21][22][13] | | CarPlay | Yes. Plays audiobooks and Read Aloud in CarPlay as an audio app. [5] | Yes. The iOS entitlements include CarPlay audio. [23] | | Face ID lock | Yes. A book can require Face ID or Touch ID before it opens. [5] | Yes. An app lock with a 4-digit PIN and Face ID or Touch ID unlock. [24] | | Analytics | None. Uses no analytics, and has no analytics framework in the app. [5] | Off by default. Anonymous usage statistics are off on new installs. The store privacy label lists data not linked to you. [24][2] | Every Readest cell was re-read on 28 October 2026. ## Goals and streaks in justRead Readest logs your reading time. justRead turns it into goals. Readest logs reading time and pages read, and shares them with KOReader. Its own design note says streaks and heatmaps will come from a future screen. justRead has them now: a daily goal, a pages goal, a yearly books goal and a streak that forgives one missed day a month. ## Where Readest is the better pick Eight places where Readest is better. ### Free sync The Free plan syncs library, progress, highlights and notes across devices. justRead has a 14-day trial and then a paywall. [1][5] ### Open source, on desktop and phone The code is under the GNU Affero General Public License version 3. The README lists macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, iOS and the Web. justRead is iPhone and iPad only. [25][6][5] ### More book formats It opens MOBI, AZW3, FB2, TXT, HTML and Markdown as well as EPUB and PDF. justRead has no import for MOBI, AZW3, FB2 or TXT. [6][5] ### Whole-book translation A translation mode translates paragraphs inline, and the Free plan includes 10,000 characters of AI translation a day. justRead translates a passage you select. [16][1][5] ### Audiobookshelf streaming and read-along Readest streams audiobooks and podcasts from a self-hosted Audiobookshelf server, and pairs a narrated audiobook with an EPUB. justRead downloads Audiobookshelf books and does not stream them. [3][8][5] ### Drawing on the page You can draw on the page with a finger, stylus or Apple Pencil. justRead does not draw ink on a page. [18][5] ### Custom dictionaries Custom dictionaries include Yomitan bundles, which matters if you read in a language you are learning. justRead has a dictionary sheet with a Wikipedia source. [6][5] ### More choice of voices Premium Readest Voice voices come with a subscription, and a custom OpenAI-compatible or local service works with a paid plan or Full Customization. justRead reads with Apple's voices and two sets of voices that run on the device. [8][5] ## Where justRead is the better pick Six places where justRead is better. ### Widgets and the lock screen Five home-screen widgets, five lock-screen widgets and a Control Center control that continues your book. Readest has one widget in three sizes and none on the lock screen. [5][20][19] ### Shortcuts and Siri justRead exposes App Intents for Shortcuts and Siri. A search of Readest's source finds no AppIntent, and its Xcode project has no Siri reference. [5][21][22][13] ### 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. A search of Readest's source finds neither Apple Intelligence nor FoundationModels. [5][14][15][13] ### Goals and streaks A daily goal, a pages goal, a yearly books goal and a streak. A search of Readest's source finds no heatmap, reading goal, daily goal or reading streak, and the README lists advanced stats as being built. [5][9][10][11][12][6][13] ### CBR comics CBR files are repacked into CBZ on import and read like any comic. Readest's format table lists cbz and no cbr. [5][7] ### Voices that stay on the device justRead reads with Apple's voices and two sets of downloadable voices, all on the device. Readest uses Edge TTS, a cloud voice, whenever the phone is online, and that sends the current sentence to Microsoft's servers. [5][8] ## How to move from Readest to justRead Your books are files, and your highlights can leave through Readwise. ### Send your highlights out first Readest lists Readwise and Notion export. justRead also exports highlights to Readwise, so a Readwise account keeps your notes in one place while you switch. [3][5] ### Find your book files If you registered a folder in Readest, the files are already in it, because Readest can read a book in place. Otherwise use the files you added in the first place. [19] ### Convert other formats justRead does not open MOBI, AZW3, FB2 or TXT files. Convert them to EPUB first, for example with Calibre. [5][6] ### 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. [5] ### Reconnect your servers justRead connects to an Audiobookshelf server and downloads its books, and syncs highlights, notes and bookmarks both ways with a Calibre server. [5] ### Try it before you pay The app starts with a 14-day free trial, so you can test it on your own books first. [5] Note the page you are on in each book first, because reading positions stay inside the app that made them. ## What Readest's users say Five App Store reviews from the US store, quoted as written. Three praise Readest and two name a limit, each from one reviewer. > The free version basically already has every feature I need > > App Store review, 5 stars, version 0.9.72, US, 22 August 2025 > TTS has natural voice, hard working developer that keeps up with latest trends! > > App Store review, 5 stars, version 0.11.2, US, 6 June 2026 > Minimal bloat this is one of the readers you can just download and immediately use no bloat great app love it > > App Store review, 5 stars, version 0.11.18, US, 11 July 2026 > In the recent update they made WebDAV sync a premium feature > > App Store review, 1 star, version 0.11.18, US, 14 July 2026 > TTS will skip over dialogue on pdf files > > App Store review, 2 stars, version 0.12.1, US, 13 August 2026 ## Readest questions ### Is Readest free? Yes, with limits. The App Store lists it as Free with in-app purchases. The Free plan includes sync of library, progress, highlights and notes, 500 MB of cloud storage and 10,000 characters of AI translation a day. Plus costs $4.99 a month, Pro costs $9.99 a month, and a one-time Full Customization unlock costs $19.99. [2][1] ### Is Readest open source? Yes. The licence is the GNU Affero General Public License version 3. [25] ### Does Readest sync with iCloud? It has an iCloud Drive route under Settings, Integrations, iCloud. Sync through your own storage needs a Plus or Pro plan or the one-time Full Customization unlock, and it pauses when a plan lapses. [3][1] ### Does Readest have text to speech? Yes. On iOS the on-device voices are Apple's speech engine. Edge TTS, a cloud voice that sends the current sentence to Microsoft's servers, is the default whenever the device is online. Premium Readest Voice voices come with a subscription only. [8] ### Does Readest play audiobooks? It pairs a human-narrated audiobook with an EPUB as read-along audio, and it streams audiobooks and podcasts from a self-hosted Audiobookshelf server. Pairing works with EPUB books only. [8][3] ### Does Readest have widgets on iPhone? One. The iOS widget is a single static widget in small, medium and large sizes, with no lock-screen widgets. [20][19] ### Does Readest have reading goals or a streak? Not at the App Store version. Readest logs reading time and pages read in a KOReader-compatible statistics database. A search of the source finds no heatmap, reading goal, daily goal or reading streak, and the README lists advanced stats among planned features that are being built. [3][6][9][10][11][12][13][27] ### Can Readest open CBR comics? No. The format table lists cbz and no cbr. [7] ### Does Readest work with Calibre? The Calibre plugin is a manual push of picked books into the Readest cloud library, and nothing uploads in the background. justRead connects to a Calibre server and syncs highlights, notes and bookmarks both ways. [19][5] ### Is justRead a good Readest alternative? If you read on iPhone and iPad and want lock-screen widgets, Shortcuts, goals and an assistant on the device, yes. If you want free sync, an open-source app, or the same app on Android and Windows, keep Readest. [5][1][6] ## 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). [28][29] ### 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). [30][31][32] ### Anx Reader: open source with AI on your own key Anx Reader is MIT licensed, syncs through WebDAV and runs on Android, iOS, macOS and Windows. Its AI assistant needs your own API key. See [justRead vs Anx Reader](https://justread.app/en/compare/justread-vs-anx-reader). [33][34][35] ### 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). [36][37] ## Try it on your own books Add your books and see the widgets, goals 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. Readest's cells come from its docs and pricing pages at readest.com, its README and source code at the v0.12.16 tag, which is the version on the App Store, and its US store listing, all re-read on 28 October 2026. "No" on a feature in the source means a search of the whole app source at that tag found nothing. The same checkout returns many lines for the word bookmark, so the searches can find a word that is there. We did not install Readest or test it on a device. Its lines describe what its pages and code say, not how the app behaves for you. Prices change. Readest's come from its pricing page, justRead's from its own site. The reviews come from the US App Store feed and are quoted as written. ## Sources 1. Readest pricing page: the Free, Plus and Pro plans and the one-time Full Customization unlock (https://readest.com/pricing), accessed 2026-10-28. 2. Readest, App Store listing (US): price line, iOS version, privacy label (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/readest-ebook-reader/id6738622779), accessed 2026-10-28. 3. Readest docs: sync, integrations, Audiobookshelf and statistics (https://readest.com/docs/sync), accessed 2026-10-28. 4. justRead pricing and trial, from the justRead site (https://justread.app/en/#pricing), accessed 2026-10-28. 5. justRead 5.6 app behavior, read from the app's source code at the release build (our own review), accessed 2026-10-28. 6. Readest README at the v0.12.16 tag (the version on the App Store) (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/readest/readest/v0.12.16/README.md), accessed 2026-10-28. 7. Readest source, document format table at v0.12.16 (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/readest/readest/v0.12.16/apps/readest-app/src/libs/document.ts), accessed 2026-10-28. 8. Readest docs: listening, text to speech and read-along audio (https://readest.com/docs/listen), accessed 2026-10-28. 9. Readest source at v0.12.16, searched for heatmap (no match) (https://github.com/readest/readest/tree/v0.12.16#search=heatmap), accessed 2026-10-28. 10. Readest source at v0.12.16, searched for reading goal (no match) (https://github.com/readest/readest/tree/v0.12.16#search=reading goal), accessed 2026-10-28. 11. Readest source at v0.12.16, searched for daily goal (no match) (https://github.com/readest/readest/tree/v0.12.16#search=daily goal), accessed 2026-10-28. 12. Readest source at v0.12.16, searched for reading streak (no match) (https://github.com/readest/readest/tree/v0.12.16#search=reading streak), accessed 2026-10-28. 13. Readest source at v0.12.16, control search for bookmark (many matches, so the searches work) (https://github.com/readest/readest/tree/v0.12.16#search=bookmark), accessed 2026-10-28. 14. Readest source at v0.12.16, searched for Apple Intelligence (no match) (https://github.com/readest/readest/tree/v0.12.16#search=Apple Intelligence), accessed 2026-10-28. 15. Readest source at v0.12.16, searched for FoundationModels (no match) (https://github.com/readest/readest/tree/v0.12.16#search=FoundationModels), accessed 2026-10-28. 16. Readest docs: translation (https://readest.com/docs/translate), accessed 2026-10-28. 17. Readest docs: customization and custom fonts (https://readest.com/docs/customization), accessed 2026-10-28. 18. Readest docs: reading and drawing on the page (https://readest.com/docs/reading), accessed 2026-10-28. 19. Readest docs: library, widget, folders, Calibre plugin and Send to Readest (https://readest.com/docs/library), accessed 2026-10-28. 20. Readest iOS widget bundle at v0.12.16 (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/readest/readest/v0.12.16/apps/readest-app/src-tauri/gen/apple/ReadestWidget/ReadestWidgetBundle.swift), accessed 2026-10-28. 21. Readest source at v0.12.16, searched for AppIntent (no match) (https://github.com/readest/readest/tree/v0.12.16#search=AppIntent), accessed 2026-10-28. 22. 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Readest design note for KOReader statistics sync, in the repository at v0.12.16 (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/readest/readest/v0.12.16/apps/readest-app/docs/superpowers/specs/2026-06-15-koreader-stats-sync-design.md), accessed 2026-10-28. 28. Yomu maker's FAQ: the Pro purchase, its price and the devices it covers (https://www.yomu-reader.com/support/faq/purchase/), accessed 2026-10-28. 29. Yomu home page: supported formats (https://www.yomu-reader.com/), accessed 2026-10-28. 30. The KyBook maker's site, Internet Archive copy (captured 22 December 2024): formats (https://web.archive.org/web/2024/http://kybook-reader.com/), accessed 2026-10-28. 31. KyBook 3, App Store listing (US): minimum iOS (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/kybook-3-ebook-reader/id1348198785), accessed 2026-10-28. 32. Apple's lookup record for KyBook 3: release date (https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id=1348198785&country=us), accessed 2026-10-28. 33. Anx Reader licence file at the v1.14.0 tag (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Anxcye/anx-reader/v1.14.0/LICENSE), accessed 2026-10-28. 34. Anx Reader README at the v1.14.0 tag: sync and platforms (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Anxcye/anx-reader/v1.14.0/README.md), accessed 2026-10-28. 35. Apple's lookup record for Anx Reader: the AI key note (https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id=6743196413&country=us), accessed 2026-10-28. 36. BookFusion, reading apps page: platforms and E Ink mode (https://www.bookfusion.com/reading/apps), accessed 2026-10-28. 37. BookFusion pricing page: plan prices (https://www.bookfusion.com/pricing), accessed 2026-10-28.