The 11 Best EPUB Readers for iOS

Summary :

Professional EPUB readers provide a superb and fluid reading experience. The 11 Best EPUB readers on iPhone and iPad are listed as followed.

Table of Contents

Best EPUB Readers for iPhone and iPad

Best EPUB Readers for iPhone and iPad

EPUB adjusts text to fit different screen sizes, making it perfect for phones and eReaders. This format also enables content with a fixed layout.

With better compatibility than MOBI, a good EPUB reader is an excellent choice for handling complex content layouts.

If you read EPUB books often, this article is a must-read.

A Glimpse of the Best EPUB Readers for iOS

EPUB Reader Pricing Key Features Overall Rating
Apple Books Free Pre-installed on iPhone and iPad

Supports reading goals

No ads

★★★★★
Marvin 3 Free (offers in-app purchases) Multi-themed UI

Extensive import and export tools

Integrates with Goodreads

Essentially free

★★★★★
Google Play Books Free Read online or offline

Compatible with all devices

Text-to-Speech

Customizable

★★★★☆
Libby Free User-friendly

Cross-device syncing

Helps to borrow books nearby

★★☆☆☆

Apple Books

Read, listen, discover. All in one place.

Apple Books is available for free download and usage on the App Store. The Apple Books app is an all-purpose e-book reader with an integrated e-book shop and audiobook resources. The application allows you to read regular text file formats including EPUB and PDF. The new automatic bookmark of Apple Books sync function allows you to effortlessly sync your bookmarks, notes, and current pages across your iPhone and iPad.

Apple Books’ reading interface offers white or sepia-toned pages for usage in various settings. The books you downloaded are shown in full color, and page flips are realistic and effortless with a finger swipe. You may read books in landscape mode and change the brightness or text size; a link at the top will lead you to the table of contents. Additionally accessible from the top navigation bar are a keyword search and bookmark.

Although this is not gonna be a big problem, Apple Books’ main reading restriction is that it only supports iOS devices, which only have backlit screens. Reading outside could make it challenging to see the screen very clearly.

Apple Books the e-reader developed by Apple

Apple Books the e-reader developed by Apple

SPECIFICATIONS

Cost: Free

Developer: Apple

Compatibility: iOS devices

Category: Books

REASONS TO CHOOSE

  • Pre-installed on iPhone and iPad
  • Supports reading goals
  • Audiobooks
  • Clean design & no ads

REASONS TO AVOID

  • The inability to connect to external EPUB libraries like Calibre and others.
  • Only for iOS
  • Backlit screen

Free Download Apple Books from the App Store

Marvin 3

The most innovative eReader to be released in a long time

The popular Marvin software is currently on its third version as the name says. The e-book reader Marvin 3 has long been well-liked. There are more than 150 new features and improvements in this new version over the previous one, according to its developer, making it a worthwhile update for current customers.

It can be used for DRM-free EPUB books, and it supports CBR and CBX comics on your iPhone.

Additionally, this app integrates with Goodreads, providing you with instant evaluations of books you already possess. You may read your information more quickly than normal with its Karaoke function. Your book’s pages can be automatically numbered, and while you’re reading, footnote popups are also available.

You should try it if you are seeking a new one that has a ton of features and is essentially free (it has in-app purchases and is available for free download from the App Store).

Despite having numerous features, the period between iterations is too long, users could wait a long time for a new update, making it an unsuitable choice for readers who expect to discover the updated features on apps occasionally.

Marvin 3 the EPUB reader for iPhone

Marvin 3 the EPUB reader for iPhone

SPECIFICATIONS

Cost: Free (offers in-app purchases)

Developer: Appstafarian

Compatibility: iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and Linux

Category: Books

REASONS TO CHOOSE

  • Supports all the latest iOS technologies
  • Multi-themed UI
  • Extensive import and export tools
  • The karaoke function helps you to read

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Low frequency of update
  • Can’t help readers to find new books

MapleRead

The top iOS e-book reader and server application

Being a sophisticated, adaptable e-book reader app with many helpful customizing options, MapleRead has three different editions: SE, CE, and CX. SE is an EPUB & PDF reader and server, while CE is an EPUB reader, and CX: is a limited edition of CE.

MapleRead is one of the well-designed e-book readers with lots of customization. With this app, you may alter the font size in EPUB files and choose different fonts for headings and paragraphs. Additionally, MapleRead is accessible for EPUB 3.0 books designed for right-to-left and vertical-writing languages.

Moreover, you may change the page layout and add your custom themes to the more than 30 lovely built-in day and night themes. It includes assistance for word searching, translation, marking, highlighting, as well as collecting vocabulary…Additionally, you may sync your books with the app via the Files app on your iPhone, iPad, or PC.

There are only 5 books available on MapleRead unless you purchase a premium edition. Despite this, MapleRead is a fantastic EPUB reader for your iPhone that is targeted at those who want a truly personalized experience with their e-books.

MapleRead the EPUB reader for iOS

MapleRead the EPUB reader for iOS

SPECIFICATIONS

Cost: CX Free (offers in-app purchases)

CE $5.99 (offers in-app purchases)

SE $6.99 (offers in-app purchases)

Developer: Maplepop LLC

Compatibility: iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

Category: Books

REASONS TO CHOOSE

  • Customization options
  • Changes fonts (even for different parts within the texts)
  • Offers translation
  • Multiple themes

REASONS TO AVOID

  • The free version is limited to 5 books
  • The interface is not stylish

Download MapleRead from the App Store

Google Play Books

Bring your favorites along for offline reading

With more than five million volumes, Google Play has the world’s largest library of electronic books. On your devices, you may read novels, comics, and textbooks online or download them to read offline so that you can take them with you everywhere you go. People who use Play Books on several devices will notice that their reading progress, together with any notes or bookmarks they add, is automatically stored and synced.

The order of the titles may be changed between author, date, and author’s name with ease. Different reading modes with color contrasts are offered in Google Play Books, along with text highlighting (four colors are supported), changing fonts, and font sizes, displaying themes or layouts, and taking notes. Additionally, it offers dictionary searches, translation, web searches, and searches inside the document content itself.

To help you feel cozy at night, the background color and brightness may be automatically changed. Additionally, Google Play Books will change the required screen brightness based on the quantity of light available at any given time. Besides, you may read the material aloud thanks to the text-to-speech engine support.

Google Play Books the EPUB reader

Google Play Books the EPUB reader

SPECIFICATIONS

Cost: Free

Developer: Google LLC

Compatibility: Android and iOS devices and Google Chrome web browser app

Category: Books

REASONS TO CHOOSE

  • Customizable
  • Read online and offline
  • Adjusts screen brightness
  • Text-to-Speech

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Functional but not pretty
  • Can’t buy books from the app

Free Download Google Play Books from the App Store

Hyphen

An exquisite, unique EPUB reader for your iOS

As an e-book reader for EPUB files, Hyphen aims to close the gap between power users and consumers. Despite being a basic reader at its core, it should be a candidate to host your next e-book given its skills in sharing and word choice.

Your books, reading location, highlights and bookmarks, vocabulary, and shelves are synced between devices by Hyphen using iCloud. Hyphen app makes it simple to highlight and comment on any parts of the text.

Control how your EPUBs are displayed with Hyphens. According to developer Matt Curtis, offers 290 fonts and 138 background and text color options. If none of these solutions appeal to you, you may still use iTunes to add unique CSS and fonts to Hyphen’s Documents folder. Hyphen also offers a ton of customization choices, like font sizes, line heights, paragraph indentations, margins, and per-book design.

Although this program will excite advanced users, it is straightforward and intuitive enough for beginners to utilize. And you may use it on a variety of iOS devices with varied screen sizes.

Hyphen the EPUB reader for iOS

Hyphen the EPUB reader for iOS

SPECIFICATIONS

Cost: $2.99

Developer: Mattitiah Curtis

Compatibility: iOS devices

Category: Books

REASONS TO CHOOSE

  • Personalize your reading experience
  • Pretty UI design
  • Sync your entire library
  • No in-app purchase options

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Long uploading and processing time for multiple PDF documents sometimes

Bluefire Reader

Offer readers a smooth, efficient, and convenient reading experience

Bluefire Reader makes it simpler for you to read e-books secured by Adobe Content Server in EPUB and PDF formats. The app, which is updated often, has a variety of useful features.

Users of the application may alter the fonts and text sizes for various e-books. Users gain access to a variety of bookmarking and highlighting options. By tapping the settings button at the top, you may access further options to change the text size, margin width, and, if needed, the page’s appearance by converting to night mode.

The brightness of the screen may also be changed, and a function that allows you to easily navigate between pages by swiping up and down can be enabled. You may pick between the slide, flip, fade, and cut when changing how the pages turn. The UI of the app appears to be a little dated, which may not be to some readers’ tastes. But if you start using Bluefire Reader for reading, it won’t be an issue.

Bluefire Reader the EPUB reader for iPhone

Bluefire Reader the EPUB reader for iPhone

SPECIFICATIONS

Cost: $4.99

Developer: Bluefire Productions

Compatibility: iOS, Android, and Windows

Category: Books

REASONS TO CHOOSE

  • Easy to use
  • Updated often
  • Different reading modes

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Outdated overall design

Download Bluefire Reader from the App Store

KyBook 3

The finest manner to ever read a book on an iOS smartphone

An enjoyable way to read books on the iPad is using the full-featured PDF reader software known as KyBook 3 E-book Reader. For avid readers, additional features include a practical cataloguer and adjustable reading mode settings.

Through OPDS catalogs, the PDF reader app for iPad and iPhone gives users access to a massive library of e-books and audiobooks. It also supports a variety of e-book formats, like EPUB, FB2, RTF, PDF, DJVU, MOBI, AZW3, and CBR. You may add annotations and turn text into audio using the built-in text-to-speech tool. Besides, you may translate individual words or entire phrases into other languages. Regular expressions can be used to search for a certain text within a book.

Users have the option to import files from cloud storage services including Yandex Disk, iCloud Drive, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox. Additionally, mp3, m4a, and m4b audiobooks may be played back with this program. KyBook 3 offers reading modes based on the time of day to reduce eye strain as reading is one of the main applications of this app.

KyBook 3 the EPUB reader for iPhone

KyBook 3 the EPUB reader for iPhone

SPECIFICATIONS

Cost: Free (offers in-app purchases)

Developer: Konstantin Bukreev

Compatibility: iOS devices

Category: Books

REASONS TO CHOOSE

  • OPDS catalogs
  • Flexible reading mode
  • Cloud storage
  • Annotation and translation

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Text wrapping around pictures doesn’t work properly sometimes

Free Download Kybook 3 from the App Store

Scribd

The most practical and effective deal for online reading

In terms of the quantity and caliber of books offered, Scribd rivals giants like Amazon and has one of the largest collections of both books and audiobooks. The substantial audiobook selection on Scribd is one of its key selling factors. With Scribd, users may discover research papers and sheet music in addition to books.

Readers may change the font size and background color, add notes and annotations, and handle horizontal or vertical page scrolling. Additionally, Scribd has an Android version that enables quick cross-device syncing. This makes it possible to continue from where you left off on another device.

The finest feature of this program is the option to download e-books for reading when offline. However, compared to some of its competitors, it might not offer all the titles you’d like to listen to if you like audiobooks.

Taking everything into account, we think Scribd’s advantages exceed its drawbacks.

Scribd the EPUB reader for iPhone

Scribd the EPUB reader for iPhone

SPECIFICATIONS

Cost: 30-day free trial

$11.99 monthly subscription

Developer: Scribd

Compatibility: iOS and Android devices

Category: Books

REASONS TO CHOOSE

  • Offline reading
  • Cross-device syncing
  • Easy-to-use interface
  • Diverse content types

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Difficult to add highlights sometimes
  • Limited e-books

Free Download Scribd from App Store

Gerty

A beautifully designed software to read books and take notes

If you want a free program that has main features but is easier to use, try Gerty. It is also Appstafarian and is comparable to Marvin in simplicity. Gerty, on the other hand, has fewer customizing choices. The only other options are to choose the font, modify the orientation lock settings, and choose between broad or narrow margins and vertical line spacing. There are just six color patterns for you to choose from. Despite this, Gerty provides reading statistics, night mode…

Although Gerty is not that suitable for deep reading, it does include a built-in diary function where you can record your opinions on the book as you read it. This feature even allows you to upload photographs taken with the device camera as well as a map indicating your current location. If possible, it will even use the camera on your device to scan the barcode of the book and seek related information for you.

Gerty the EPUB reader for iPhone

Gerty the EPUB reader for iPhone

SPECIFICATIONS

Cost: Free (offers in-app purchases)

Developer: Appstafarian

Compatibility: iOS devices

Category: Books

REASONS TO CHOOSE

  • Auto-scrolling
  • Built-in journal feature
  • Scanning to look up

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Not for deep reading
  • Limited customization options

PocketBook Reader

Get yourself an intriguing literary journey without boundaries

A free program that combines reading and audiobook listening is called PocketBook Reader. 26 book and audio formats, including .mobi, .epub, .fb2, .cbz, and .cbr, are supported by the PocketBook Reader app. The nicest part is that this software lets you read without being interrupted by ads.

In addition to reading, searching, putting notes and highlights to the book you’re now reading, and even converting text into speech, PocketBook Reader lets you personalize your reading experience by changing the font size, layout, color, and a variety of other settings.

You can synchronize all of your books, including audiobooks, as well as reading locations, notes, and bookmarks across all of your devices with the free PocketBook Cloud service. Additionally, it provides access to network libraries and supports OPDS catalogs. If necessary, the ISBN scanner for swift barcode scanning of books in digital form is a valuable feature.

PocketBook Reader the EPUB reader for iPhone

PocketBook Reader the EPUB reader for iPhone

SPECIFICATIONS

Cost: Free (offers in-app purchases)

Developer: Pocketbook International SA

Compatibility: iOS and Android devices

Category: Books

REASONS TO CHOOSE

  • Transform written text into spoken text
  • No ads
  • Easy book navigation

REASONS TO AVOID

  • A little problematic, occasionally opening blank screens

Free Download PocketBook Reader from the App Store

Libby

The easiest approach to start borrowing e-books is through this free app

The e-book and audiobook program Libby is user-friendly, safe, and made to work on many types of devices. Also, you may borrow e-books and audiobooks from your nearby library using this free app. It contains a tag system to monitor titles without counting against the borrowing limit and allows users to search, filter results, put holds on, and borrow titles.

Libby is also greatly customizable: the font size, background color, and book style can all be changed in Libby, and users can even add bookmarks, highlights, and notes (even in the audio player) … For those who enjoy audiobooks, the ability to speed up or slow down the audio is also highly appealing. Compared to other programs with the same characteristics, it is simpler to use, more aesthetically pleasing, and operates far more quickly.

The nicest thing about Libby is that users may access the content without charge, exactly like they would if they were taking a real book out from a branch library.

Libby the EPUB reader for iPhone

Libby the EPUB reader for iPhone

SPECIFICATIONS

Cost: Free

Developer: OverDrive, Inc.

Compatibility: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android devices, and Kindle Fire

Category: Books

REASONS TO CHOOSE

  • User-friendly
  • Free
  • Synchronization with other devices

REASONS TO AVOID

  • No desktop version
  • Long waitlists sometimes

Free Download Libby from the App Store

How to Choose the Best EPUB Reader for Your iPhone?

To choose the best EPUB reader, you need first to decide what you often do with this application. Obviously, the first is reading, but reading content is also decomposed into e-books and audiobooks. Second, consider what reading experience you desire: is it basic reading with very few requirements, or do you need a highly customizable experience?

Furthermore, while reading, make sure that if it is important for you the app can help you in translating, searching, annotating, etc.

How We Test EPUB Readers for iPhone?

We evaluated reading software from a variety of angles, for premium software and free software, since individual readers have varied needs and habits. We imported a variety of content throughout the test, including big volumes, publications with plenty of photos, audiobooks, etc.

We also examined the software’s personalized features, such as how effortlessly readers may add notes, highlight, turn pages, adjust the font and size, etc.

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