Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
The verdict on

AlphaNovel

45
User verdict / 100 High confidence Divided

AlphaNovel offers engaging stories that users enjoy, but its aggressive monetization model, frequent app crashes, and short chapters make it an expensive and frustrating experience for many recent users.

4.7★ lifetime (80,565) Free + in-app purchases since 2022 by Brailion Ventures Limited updated 0.1 mo ago recent negative 20% 50 reviews across 1 regions
Cost & Monetization Story Quality App Functionality Coin & Reward System
5★27
4★8
3★5
2★4
1★6
recent reviews across 1 regions, vs the 4.7★ lifetime average

AlphaNovel provides a wide selection of captivating stories that keep readers hooked. However, recent reviews highlight significant issues with the app's cost, short chapters, and technical problems, including frequent crashes and unreliable coin rewards.

What users like

  • Stories are engaging and high quality, keeping readers engrossed.R4R5R12R19
  • Offers a good selection of books and authors.R6R25R35R38

What users complain about

  • App frequently crashes or fails to open, preventing users from reading.R1R2
  • Extremely expensive, with users spending significant amounts (e.g., £30 for half a book) to unlock short chapters.R3R6R7R10
  • Chapters are very short, requiring many unlocks to progress through a story.R3R13R20R23
  • Coin reward system is unreliable, with tasks not awarding coins or requiring more spending than the reward.R10R22R37R48
  • Free chapter unlocks are inconsistent, often failing to become available after the waiting period.R20R37
  • Grammar, spelling, and tense issues are present in some stories.R7R10
  • Users report being charged for re-reading already purchased chapters.R14

Latest update · v2.36.0

What the developer says changed (the verdict above weighs this against what reviewers report):

We're always making changes and improvements to AlphaNovel. To make sure you don't miss a thing, just keep your Updates turned on. - Minor UI improvements - Bug fixes

Recurring themes

Cost & Monetization negative
Many users find the app extremely expensive, citing high costs for unlocking short chapters, often spending £12.99 to £30 for only part of a book. The free-to-read model quickly transitions to paid chapters, with prices increasing as the story progresses.R3R6R7R10
App Functionality negative
Several recent reviews report the app failing to open or crashing, making it unusable. This contradicts the developer's notes claiming 'Bug fixes'. Users also experience issues with free chapter timers resetting or not unlocking chapters as promised. There's no clear way to contact support for issues like repeated chapters.R1R2R14R37
Story Quality positive
Despite other issues, users consistently praise the stories as engaging, gripping, and high-quality, often getting 'hooked' and wanting to continue reading.R4R5R6R10
Coin & Reward System negative
Users are frustrated with the coin system, finding rewards insufficient or unreliable. Tasks to earn coins often require spending more than the reward, and daily reading rewards sometimes reset without awarding coins. Notifications for free points often lead to nothing.R9R10R22R23

Who it's for

This app is for readers who prioritize engaging, high-quality stories and are willing to pay a significant amount of money to access them R3R10. It is not for users on a budget, those who expect consistent free access, or those who get frustrated by technical issues and unreliable reward systems R1R2R7R20.

Evidence note: The recent reviews skew heavily towards negative experiences, particularly regarding cost and app functionality, despite the lifetime rating being high. This suggests a recent decline in user satisfaction or a change in monetization strategy.

Frequently asked

Is AlphaNovel free to read?
AlphaNovel offers some initial free chapters, but quickly requires payment via coins to unlock subsequent chapters, which many users find to be very expensive R6R20R34.
How much does it cost to read a book on AlphaNovel?
Users report spending significant amounts, with some mentioning £12.99 for half a book or £30 for half a book due to tiny chapters and high unlock costs R3R7R10.
Are there issues with the AlphaNovel app crashing?
Yes, several recent reviews indicate that the app frequently fails to open or crashes, preventing users from accessing their books R1R2.
Can I earn free coins or chapters?
While the app offers ways to earn coins through tasks and free chapters every hour, users report that the reward system is often unreliable, tasks don't always award coins, and free chapters frequently fail to unlock as promised R10R22R37R48.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 50 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R4] 5/5 · GB True luna: A great read can’t wait for Emma to wake up
  2. [R5] 5/5 · GB Lula Lola: It has an interesting start and has kept me glued to my screen.
  3. [R12] 5/5 · GB True Luna: A really good read I couldn’t wait to read each chapter and know what was going to happen next.
  4. [R19] 2/5 · GB I’m quite shocked: Pretty amazing app I love it,the story’s are on a different lvl,I’ve read all sorts of stories on apps like this but this app tops them all,at this point I don’t think Amy think can top the stories on this app,I could read these all day
  5. [R6] 3/5 · GB Enjoyable stories: Enjoyable stories with an array authors of a high standard. Quite expensive to read though
  6. [R25] 4/5 · GB …: It’s a very good app but I am currently reading an story and I now have to pay to unlock my chapters instead of waiting an hour for it and it’s a bit annoying for me as it’s only just getting good. But overall it’s a really good app and would definitely recommend. It has so many different books and they are all similar but also all so different
  7. [R35] 4/5 · GB Good but expensive: So firstly there is a great collection of books and authors on here, absolutely amazing, however, as an avid reader, (with the premium subscription which reduces your wait time between chapters from an hour to half an hour) it just isn’t reasonable to expect someone to wait half an hour between every chapter for the next 100 and something chapters. And to unlock all these chapt
  8. [R38] 5/5 · GB Alpha Novels: Excellent choice of books
  9. [R1] 2/5 · GB Can’t open: So since yesterday I haven’t been able to open the app. I just get the thing going round but nothing’s happening. Please fix ASAP
  10. [R2] 1/5 · GB App no longer working: Was enjoying reading a book and even purchased coins to continue reading and now the app will not work/hasn’t done for the last 3 days.
  11. [R3] 1/5 · GB Stupidly expensive: Wants £30 to read one book thanks to tiny chapters & ridiculous cost to unlock one chapter. I didn’t even pay that for my GOT book box set 🙄 Think I’ll stick to the much cheaper reading apps that don’t allow 2 page chapters.
  12. [R7] 1/5 · GB FINANCIAL RIP OFF: I am only half way into a book and so far it has cost me £12.99 and I have no idea how many more chapters there are to go or how much it will cost me. Grammar,pronouns, tenses and spelling are all HORRIFIC. Not professionally done and exorbitant
  13. [R10] 3/5 · GB Good stories but at a cost £££: I have diligently been trying to everything I can to obtain coins rather than spend money. Needless to say, I have been £30 on half a book so far. It’s a shame there are limitations to how many adverts you can watch to obtain coins and on one occasion I read for 7 days straight but was never awarded the coins for it and it just reset to day 1. The story I’m reading
  14. [R13] 3/5 · GB .: Could be better seems a lot coins for short chapters
  15. [R20] 1/5 · GB Scam: Feel like this app is a scam says new chapter every hour you do not get that instead you need to pay to read each chapter that aint even that long to start with but people dont realise how much it costs to read a story until u realise how much you have spent do not download and give these people money
  16. [R23] 1/5 · GB Just want your money: I bought the plus and still sat in the same position as I was before I bought it, I barely get any coins and when I do they go straight away on the cost of each chapter( also to short) the books are amazing and I wish I could finish them but this app makes it near impossible to keep interested when I’m having to wait hours just to read the next chapter
  17. [R22] 4/5 · GB .: I love the book I am reading but it’s annoying how many coins you have to get to read the next chapter and I was reading for 30 minutes straight but said I was only in the app for 10 minutes so didn’t get more coins which is very annoying.
  18. [R37] 3/5 · GB Lots of faults: Some great reads but require good memory for the gaps between each short chapter. The free chapter every hour is good but there are lots of times when you’ll wait the hour (even get the notification) but when you go on it the chapter hasn’t become available and just shows the hour timer restarting or it gives you the chapter before. You also get a lot of notifications saying Open t
  19. [R48] 2/5 · GB Expensive: The app is expensive, you get a few free chapters on each book then have to pay per chapter. Most of the chapters are short so need editing. You also get tasks to do like unlocking a certain amount of chapters and get coins as an award, but the amount you spend to get the award is more than the award you are given. For example is it costs 1800 coins to unlock chapters and yet the reward
  20. [R14] 3/5 · GB Some flaws: Read my first book I was engrossed in it just the waiting to unlock the next chapter unless you bought coins, now on next novel and three chapters where repeats thought I was loosing my mind, I have coins and it uses them to reread a chapter that you’ve purchased and read already. No way to contact through the app to report it
  21. [R9] 4/5 · GB I will never be yours: Its good so far but not enough rewards
  22. [R34] 2/5 · GB About the app: The book I started reading on this app was really good. But it’s a little bit of a con, as the first few chapters were free as a taster and then, to read the rest of the book you have to pay tokens or wait. However if your going the token route, the chapters slowly increase in price to the point it had double the amount of token necessary to purchase a chapter which I think is a bit
  23. [R36] 4/5 · GB Alpha Novels: Great reads first chapters are free but can earn coins through doing tasks to save and unlock more chapters

Synthesized from 50 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store