# BookOrbit: The Official App — user reviews > 37 indexed App Store user reviews of BookOrbit by Ila Chandel, rated 4.40/5 from 38 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookorbit-the-official-app/id6811807346/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookorbit-the-official-app/id6811807346.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 25 · 4★ 6 · 3★ 5 · 2★ 0 · 1★ 2 ## Is BookOrbit safe? BookOrbit: The Official App appears mostly safe based on user ratings. The AppsHunter Safety Score for BookOrbit is 82 out of 100. This assessment is based on 38 user ratings, with an App Store average of 4.4 out of 5. Of 38 App Store ratings, 81.6% point to a safe experience, 13.2% suggest some concerns, and 5.3% point to a risky experience. ## Is BookOrbit legit? BookOrbit: The Official App has limited verification signals. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for BookOrbit is 58 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data. ## Newest reviews (11 of 37) ### 4/5 — Loving it so far, but please change the app background *2026-10-08* Hello! Love the app and the docker install. Tried grimmory but it had some issues that I don’t seem to have here and plan on migrating from abs and kavita to book orbit! Love the app and all the functionality but please, change the background in the app. The thin circle looks like a piece of hair and it’s driving me crazy 😩 I keep trying to brush it off my screen lol otherwise I plan to become a supporter after migrating my library. Cheers! ### 4/5 — Super! *2026-10-04* Super application quand on gère ces livres sur BookOrbit dans un serveur personnel. Ça permet le suivi de lecture entre liseuse, iPhone et iPad facilement Avec des traductions ça serai encore mieux mais l’app est récente, ça évolue déjà bien Continuez comme ça! **Developer response:** Merci beaucoup ! Les traductions arrivent dans une future mise à jour, restez à l'affût, et encore merci pour votre soutien ! ### 4/5 — Thanks *2026-10-02* Recent updates got the iPad version of the app working. Now I can read on my phone and now the iPad so nice. Much appreciated. **Developer response:** Thanks for taking the time to share this! Please update to Version 1.2.0, I just released full, native iPad support that eliminates the phone-scaled view and takes advantage of the entire screen with two-pane layouts, adaptive readers, and trackpad/keyboard controls. I’d love for you to check it out! ### 4/5 — Good but needs polish *2026-09-29* The app is awesome, a great way to interact with my Bookorbit instances. A couple of small caveats: the apps iPad support is rough the app focuses too much on audio (this shouldn’t be front and center and located at the bottom at all times. To easy to click) it’s too easy to scrub forward on the bottom and sync to a bad state lastly an RSVP reader would be nice Otherwise, great work and I paid for a lifetime membership. **Developer response:** Thanks for the feedback and for supporting the app with a lifetime membership! Please update to Version 1.2.0, I’ve just added first-class iPad support with dedicated two-pane layouts, adaptive controls, and full keyboard and trackpad navigation across the app and readers. The app is still in its early stages, so feedback on the audio layout, scrubber, and RSVP reader is super helpful. Tons of refinements and features are coming in the weeks, months, and years ahead! ### 4/5 — One person purchase? *2026-09-29* My family (my wife and I) would love to use this and pay for lifetime but it’s a decision to make it per person not family. **Developer response:** Edit: Family Sharing for the lifetime pass is now fully supported as of version 1.1.0! You and your family can now share a single purchase across your family group. ### 5/5 — Nice companion to the Docker app *2026-09-26* Nice to have an app instead of pinning my self hosted Bookorbit docker site to the home screen! Now we just need an iPad native version. The app works great on the phone but on the ipad it is a small rectangle. **Developer response:** Please update your BookOrbit server to version 3.0.0 or higher, as that is the minimum supported version required by the latest mobile app. Those schema validation errors (deviceLabel and clientKind) occur because older server releases do not recognize the new payload properties introduced in v3.0.0. Once you upgrade your server container, login will work seamlessly. ### 5/5 — Magnifique !! *2026-09-24* Application parfaite ! J’en ai testé beaucoup pendant de longues années ! Et voici enfin lappli parfaite ! Fluide ! Rapide et précise ! Un grand merci !!!! 🙏 PS: À quand la version pour IPad ? 😉 ### 5/5 — GOAT of book hosting *2026-09-24* BookOrbit is by far the best app for hosting your books and audiobooks, and the iOS app is cherry on top. Keep up with the great work. ### 5/5 — 很不错一款 *2026-09-24* 你好，能否支持切换语言支持中文 ### 4/5 — 第一版的体验挺不错的。 *2026-09-23* 希望可以增加字体切换功能。 ### 3/5 — Quase perfeito *2026-09-22* Falta suporte a iPad, para uma leitura mais confortável! **Developer response:** Muito obrigado pelo feedback! O suporte nativo para iPad já está em desenvolvimento e chegará em uma próxima atualização. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Paid subscription for a tool I self host? *2026-09-27* This is really poor form. I understand being industrious and I’d absolutely consider a one time purchase if the price was reasonable, but this doesn’t sit right with me **Developer response:** Thanks for the feedback. We may not have made this clear enough: self-hosting BookOrbit remains free, and the iOS app does not require a subscription. You can connect to your own server, browse, read and listen, sync progress, and keep up to seven books and three audiobooks offline at no cost. Premium is optional and adds unlimited downloads, offline Apple Watch listening, the full text-to-speech voice catalog, advanced activity insights, and additional customization. Revenue from Premium is necessary to sustain the continued development and maintenance of both BookOrbit and its native iOS and Apple Watch apps. Version 1.2.0 also includes a one-time Lifetime purchase, so a recurring subscription is not required. We understand Premium will not suit everyone, but we hope this clarifies what remains free and what the paid upgrade provides. ### 1/5 — Can’t login *2026-09-25* Can’t login or configure custom headers. **Developer response:** Please update your BookOrbit server to version 3.0.0 or higher, as that is the minimum supported version required by the latest mobile app. Those schema validation errors (deviceLabel and clientKind) occur because older server releases do not recognize the new payload properties introduced in v3.0.0. Once you upgrade your server container, login will work seamlessly. ### 1/5 — Can't even login to my Bookorbit server *2026-09-22* Not very good, can't even use it to login to my selfhosted Bookorbit server. All I get is 'property deviceLabel should not exist' and 'property clientKind should not exist' when attempting to login. You'd think the developer would have tested logging in. I guess the dev needs to use more "aye eyes". ### 3/5 — Apogee is Better *2026-10-11* Though currently in Beta still and requiring apple test flight it is a much better app. ### 3/5 — Potential for greatness *2026-10-01* Good to see it’s now fully supported on iPad. Now can we have a Mac version too? **Developer response:** Thanks for the feedback! Please update to Version 1.2.0, I’ve just added first-class iPad support with dedicated two-pane layouts, adaptive controls, and full keyboard and trackpad support across the entire app and readers. I’d love for you to give it another try! ### 3/5 — Shows promise *2026-09-28* The mobile app is very much a version 1.0. I bought lifetime to support development but it has lots of bugs that need to be ironed out. **Developer response:** Hi antiVoldy, thank you so much for buying lifetime to support the app! I'm sorry for the bugs you've run into. I'm actively working hard on fixes, and you'll see rapid updates rolling out alongside lots of cool new features. Stay tuned for the journey! ### 3/5 — Want to love the product, the quirks make it hard *2026-09-26* Been using BookOrbit for a few months now and I seriously enjoy the path it has gone down, this app (in its current state) feels like it’s also in need of that “give it a couple months” timeline. Examples: I use BookOrbit mostly for comics/manga and found the zoom in on comics to work awkwardly (seemingly always zooming towards the dead center middle), comics don’t lead into the next book (meaning you’ll have to go find the next issue when you finish one), and the current layout when looking at your series of books feels somewhat confusing with the actual list of your collection being a small text box under “Details”. Though a scrollable visual of your collection is towards the bottom, yet it doesn’t show the entire series/collection? I’ll probably still hold off on sharing my instance/this app with friends & family as the quirks right now are still someone apparent, I will happily give 5 stars if/when BookOrbit can iron a lot of this out. ### 3/5 — Potential for greatness *2026-09-26* This is certainly not an app for the iPad. More than happy to pay when it’s solid across all platforms. ### 3/5 — Good, but missing features *2026-09-24* What the app can do it is great. I have no issues with it on my iPhone, however it quite literally doesn't work on any other of my devices. Not even an iPad will display correctly and looks like a phone screen imposed on the iPad wasting screen space and making it feel janky. Why can't it go full screen? **Developer response:** Thanks for taking the time to share this! Please update to Version 1.2.0, I just released full, native iPad support that eliminates the phone-scaled view and takes advantage of the entire screen with two-pane layouts, adaptive readers, and trackpad/keyboard controls. I’d love for you to check it out! ### 3/5 — Feature-packed but lacks refinement *2026-09-24* BookOrbit is quickly moving to become the king of self-hosted reading library management apps. This app represents an extension of that rapid build-out. At the same time, this is a single-developer project moving at a breakneck pace. Much of it is LM assisted coding. Nothing wrong with that in and of itself, but it means that while this app has a ton going for it and lots of features, it isn’t rolling out with the testing and polish that other clients receive. It’s cumbersome at times and missing key components. The care and refinement in UX/UI that makes mobile apps truly great is a fair ways off. I hope that this app, despite being closed-source, can eventually get the time and attention it deserves to become worthy of switching out to replace other reading and audiobook clients, and I’ll happily revise this to 5 stars. Until then Absorb remains the GOATed client and I’ll be sticking with audiobookshelf, because the listening interface in bookorbit simply isn’t there yet. **Developer response:** Appreciate the honest review! You're totally right that things have been moving fast, and balancing new features with UX polish is definitely the main focus right now. Since you mentioned the listening experience isn't quite there yet, I'd love to know what specific features or tweaks you're missing compared to Absorb or ABS? What would make this a 5-star app for you? ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Best app, most features, fastest dev *2026-11-08* A great app and an even better server behind it. Completely replaced my Kindle, all of my other eBook services, and the pace of development and features are amazing. ### 5/5 — Fantastic *2026-11-06* I love that there’s a beautiful official native iOS app for this amazing project. I will be buying the perpetual family share license. Thank you. ### 5/5 — Please keep this project going! *2026-10-31* Love love this app. So amazed with the quality and all the different features. Books and audiobooks and making my life easier 😭❤️ ### 5/5 — Genius *2026-10-27* I love this app ### 5/5 — we need chinese! *2026-10-26* 我们需要简体中文！ ### 5/5 — Good on both iPhone and iPad *2026-10-15* This is a nice companion app if you have access to a BookOrbit server. Kinda rough at first, but quickly improving. I’d love to see magic link support for logging in, in the future. ### 5/5 — Magnifique !! *2026-10-14* Application parfaite ! J’en ai testé beaucoup pendant de longues années ! Et voici enfin lappli parfaite ! Fluide ! Rapide et précise ! Un grand merci !!!! 🙏 ### 5/5 — Love it *2026-10-11* Absolutely love this. It’s everything I ever wanted. Sync is getting better and better! Just need meta data auto grabber to continue being improved. Big thing care about is metadata Organization, and I hope it continues to improve. ### 5/5 — Updated review: great updates at a quick pace! *2026-10-04* UPDATED REVIEW: In just 1 week of this review every issue I listed in the old review has been resolved or changed entirely, absolutely fantastic. Incredibly happy with the “Comic Next up” and pinch zoom working properly. Super happy to be using Bookorbit now and can’t wait to see future updates. OLD REVIEW: Been using BookOrbit for a few months now and I seriously enjoy the path it has gone down, this app (in its current state) feels like it’s also in need of that “give it a couple months” timeline. Examples: I use BookOrbit mostly for comics/manga and found the zoom in on comics to work awkwardly (seemingly always zooming towards the dead center middle), comics don’t lead into the next book (meaning you’ll have to go find the next issue when you finish one), and the current layout when looking at your series of books feels somewhat confusing with the actual list of your collection being a small text box under “Details”. Though a scrollable visual of your collection is towards the bottom, yet it doesn’t show the entire series/collection? I’ll probably still hold off on sharing my instance/this app with friends & family as the quirks right now are still someone apparent, I will happily give 5 stars if/when BookOrbit can iron a lot of this out. ### 5/5 — Perfeito *2026-09-30* Venho aqui para atualizar minha avaliação após o suporte a iPad. Esse app é a melhor coisa que já me aconteceu. Parabéns aos responsáveis. **Developer response:** O suporte nativo para iPad chegou! Por favor, atualize para a Versão 1.2.0, agora o app conta com layouts dedicados de dois painéis, leitores adaptados para telas maiores e suporte completo a teclado e trackpad. Espero que aproveite a nova experiência de leitura! --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-11-10.*