Comparison

Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource vs StudyBucky

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource

Access and read Elsevier textbooks on your iOS device. Download books for offline study, search your entire library, and add notes and highlights. Sync your progress across devices for a seamless learning experience.

Highlights
  • Download books for offline reading
  • Search entire library
  • Create notes and highlights
  • Sync across devices
  • Pinch to zoom figures
Features
Read full description

Use Elsevier® eBooks to download and access Elsevier textbooks on your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. Read your books online or offline, search across your full library, and create notes and highlights to help you study. Elsevier eBooks Features: • Download books to your iOS device for easy online or offline reading. • Simple, user-friendly navigation and a clean reading experience. • Search inside your current book or across your full library. • Select text to create notes or highlights from your mobile device. • Tap to open figures, view captions and pinch to zoom. • Sync your bookmarks, last page read and all of your notes and highlights between your iOS device and our desktop or web-based Elsevier eBooks apps. Requirements: • Elsevier eBooks account • Access to one or more Elsevier textbooks • iOS 17+

About

StudyBucky

Prepare for the ARRT Radiography certification exam with adaptive practice, mock exams, and an AI tutor. Features include interactive diagrams, flashcards with spaced repetition, and guided learning paths to master key concepts.

Highlights
  • Adaptive practice targeting weak areas
  • Full-length timed mock exams
  • AI tutor for question explanations
  • Guided learning paths by category
  • Flashcards with spaced repetition
  • Interactive physics diagrams
  • Study reminders and readiness tracking
Features
Read full description

StudyBucky is exam prep for the ARRT Radiography certification exam, built around the four ARRT content categories: Patient Care, Safety, Image Production, and Procedures. START WITH A DIAGNOSTIC A quick diagnostic, weighted across all four ARRT categories, shows you where you actually stand before you spend a single study hour. PRACTICE THAT TARGETS YOUR WEAK AREAS Adaptive practice pulls questions from the areas you keep missing. Filter by category, by lesson module, or let the app aim you at your weakest topics. FULL-LENGTH TIMED MOCK EXAMS Build a mock exam up to 230 questions, weighted to the ARRT blueprint and timed at one minute per question — the real exam's pace. Review every attempt by category and track your scores across mocks. ASK BUCKY, THE AI TUTOR Stuck on a question? Bucky walks you through the reasoning, then checks its own answer before showing it to you. When it cannot back something up, it tells you instead of guessing. GUIDED LEARNING PATHS Four ordered curricula — Image Production, Safety, Procedures, and Patient Care. Each module walks you through the lesson, drills you on it, then makes you clear a mastery check before it moves on. FLASHCARDS WITH SPACED REPETITION Save any question as a card and let the scheduler resurface it right before you would have forgotten it. Ready-made decks cover each learning path, plus focused decks on CR angles and common exam traps. INTERACTIVE DIAGRAMS Move a slider and watch the physics respond — inverse square law, grid ratio and cutoff, shape distortion, beam geometry, x-ray emission spectrum, photon interactions, tube construction, and a 3D foot and ankle model you can rotate. THE ARRT FORMULA SHEET Every formula, dose limit, and direction-of-change relationship you are expected to recall, on one page. Built for the last review before you walk in. QUESTION TYPES THAT MATCH THE REAL EXAM Multiple choice, select-all-that-apply, ordering, numeric entry, and image hotspot items — the same formats the ARRT exam uses. STUDY REMINDERS Enter the date of your exam and the app sends a native reminder the day before it. It also nudges you when your flashcards come due, so the spaced-repetition schedule actually happens instead of quietly lapsing. Reminders can be turned off in your device settings at any time. TRACK YOUR READINESS A readiness score, accuracy broken out by ARRT category, a study streak, and a Question of the Day to keep you honest between sessions. WRITTEN FOR ACCURACY Every question is researched, written, and independently checked before it ships. No recalled, leaked, or secured exam items are used, ever. StudyBucky is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT). ARRT is a registered trademark of the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://studybucky.com/legal/privacy

Screenshots

Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource4 screens
StudyBucky4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: StudyBucky at every 2 weeks against Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource's every 3 months. StudyBucky also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource's advantage is ratings volume (9.4K vs 2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

StudyBucky holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource has 9.4K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource ships an update every 3 months, StudyBucky every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource versus StudyBucky: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterElsevier eBooks on VitalSourceStudyBucky
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (9.4K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews16.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings9.4K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size188 MB9 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperElsevier Inc.Bricen Bolsen

Customer experience

Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource

All ratings9,336 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral2.2%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews153 reviews
Positive16.3%
Neutral6.5%
Negative77.1%

StudyBucky

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Repeated sentence/paragraph playback
  • Highlighted text disappearing across devices
  • Inability to download or access purchased books

Requested features

5 requests
  • Allow handwritten notes and annotations
  • Improve page-turning and scrolling functionality
  • Enhance diagram and image viewing experience
  • Integrate seamless cross-device synchronization
  • Provide more customization options (e.g., font, layout)

StudyBucky

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource

No in-app purchases

None

StudyBucky

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource free?
Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is StudyBucky free?
StudyBucky is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource or StudyBucky?
StudyBucky is rated higher. Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource averages 4.7 out of 5 from 9.4K ratings, while StudyBucky averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource or StudyBucky have ads?
Neither Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource nor StudyBucky shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource or StudyBucky?
Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource ships an update every 3 months, and StudyBucky every 2 weeks. Most recently, Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource was updated on November 1, 2026 and StudyBucky on October 29, 2026.

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