Cadence - Speed Reading App
RSVP reader for PDF & EPUB
Free · In‑App Purchases · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.
Cadence shows text in one fixed spot on screen – in short sense units or one word at a time. Your eyes stay where they are instead of travelling line by line.
WHAT READING RESEARCH SAYS
In normal reading your eyes jump forward several times a second, usually 7 to 9 letters at a time. Text is only taken in during the short pauses in between. With Cadence, the text comes to your eyes.
Words are recognised fastest when the eye lands slightly left of their centre (O'Regan & Jacobs, 1992). Cadence aligns every word so that exactly this point sits in the same place, marked in colour.
Even skilled readers linger at the end of a sentence, where its meaning is put together (Just & Carpenter, 1980). So Cadence pauses briefly at full stops, a little less after commas, and gives long words more time.
HONESTLY
Adults read non-fiction at about 240 words per minute on average (Brysbaert, 2019). The faster you read, the more comprehension it costs (Rayner et al., 2016). So Cadence does not promise triple speed with full understanding. You get calm, distraction-free reading and the choice: brisk for easy texts, slower for hard ones. To re-read a passage, switch to the classic text view.
TWO READING MODES
Sense units: short words like "the" or "in" are grouped with the next word, so what belongs together stays together.
Single words (new): one word after another, for maximum focus. When you switch, Cadence jumps back to the start of the current sentence, so you never miss a word.
FROM DOCUMENT TO READING FLOW
Import PDFs, e-books (EPUB), Word documents, and text or Markdown files. Cadence strips headers and page numbers. Scanned documents are recognised on your device, and chapters are taken from e-books and PDFs.
It works best with documents that contain real text. With scans, multi-column pages, tables and figures the reading order can differ. Books protected by DRM cannot be opened.
NO NETWORK, NO ACCOUNT
Everything stays on your device. No account, no sign-in, no uploading your documents to a server. Cadence remembers your position across chapters and books.
INCLUDED FOR FREE
· Two books
· 30 minutes of reading per day
· Three speeds: 300, 450 and 600 words per minute
· Single-word mode to try in the Cadence Guide
· Light and dark appearance
· Classic text view
CADENCE PRO
· Unlimited books and unlimited reading time
· Stepless 150–1500 words per minute
· Single-word mode in every book
· Sepia and automatic appearance
· Four fonts and your own focus colour
· Text view jumps to your exact position
PRICING
Cadence Pro — 19.99 € one-time purchase. No subscription, nothing renews.
Try it free for 7 days: all Pro features at no cost. Afterwards Cadence switches back to the free version automatically and nothing is charged.
Sources: Brysbaert (2019), Journal of Memory and Language · Just & Carpenter (1980), Psychological Review · O'Regan & Jacobs (1992), JEP: Human Perception and Performance · Rayner et al. (2016), Psychological Science in the Public Interest
Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Privacy Policy: https://mjcoolj.github.io/cadence-legal/
Ratings & Reviews
- This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
New: single-word mode
You asked for it: read one word at a time instead of short sense units. Turn it on in the design menu (◐) under "Reading mode".
• Switching jumps back to the start of the current sentence, so you never miss a word.
• Try it free in the included Cadence Guide, in every book with Cadence Pro.
• Your reading progress carries over between both modes.
New: Cadence Pro is now a one-time purchase – no subscription. And you can try all Pro features free for 7 days first.
The developer, MAXIMILIAN WILFRIED JENEWEIN, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
- Purchases
- Identifiers
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- MAXIMILIAN WILFRIED JENEWEIN
- Size
- 42.4 MB
- Category
- Productivity
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 16.4 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 16.4 or later. - iPad
Requires iPadOS 16.4 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later. - Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
English and 4 more
- English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- In-App Purchases
Yes
- 7-day Trial $0.00
- Cadence Pro Lifetime $17.99
- Copyright
- © 2026 Cadence