Prologue Audiobook Player vs Apogee Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Prologue Audiobook Player
This app provides a seamless audiobook listening experience for users with self-hosted libraries. It connects to Plex and Audiobookshelf, offering offline downloads, advanced playback controls, and detailed listening statistics. Enjoy your audiobooks anywhere with support for multiple Apple devices and integrations.
- Connects to Plex and Audiobookshelf
- Offline audiobook downloads
- Collections and series organization
- Bookmarks and reading list
- Playback statistics and history
- Per-book playback settings
- Sleep timer and smart rewind
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The self-hosted audiobook player for Plex and Audiobookshelf. Library - Keep your Plex and Audiobookshelf books together in one library - Browse by author, collection or series - Save books to your reading list - Download books for offline listening - Bookmark passages and add notes - Look back through your playback history, listening stats and streaks Reader - Follow the transcript as you listen, or open the book's EPUB or PDF - See the text highlighted as your book plays - Tap the text to jump to that part of the audiobook - Use ebooks from Audiobookshelf or import your own - Transcription happens on your device Playback - Adjust playback speed and save settings for each book - Set a sleep timer for a duration or the end of a chapter - Rewind automatically when you resume after a pause - Land at sentence starts when skipping or rewinding, once the audio is transcribed - Adjust the sound with Voice Boost and an equalizer Devices - Listen on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch - Download books to Apple Watch and listen without your phone - Use CarPlay, Siri, Shortcuts and widgets Prologue plays the books on your Plex or Audiobookshelf server. It doesn't sell books or come with any of its own. Free to download, with additional features behind a one-time Premium unlock. Offline listening on Apple Watch requires the separate Prologue for Apple Watch unlock. Transcription and following along with audio require a supported device and language.
Apogee Reader
This native iOS reader connects to your self-hosted BookOrbit server, keeping your books private. It supports various ebook, audiobook, comic, and PDF formats, with features like synchronized progress, highlights, and offline access.
- Supports EPUB, MOBI, CBZ, CBR, CB7, and PDF formats
- Audiobook playback with sleep timer and speed control
- Comic reading in paged or webtoon mode
- Synchronized reading progress across devices
- Highlights and notes with server sync
- Offline reading capabilities
- Fanfic updates from Archive of Our Own
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Apogee is a native iOS reader for a BookOrbit server you run yourself. Your books stay on your own machine, and there's no account to make beyond the one on your own server. It reads what your library holds: • Ebooks. EPUB and MOBI, with your choice of font, theme, margins and page flow. You can add your own font files from the Files app. • Audiobooks. Chapters, a sleep timer, playback speed, CarPlay and Lock Screen controls. • Comics. CBZ, CBR and CB7, in paged or webtoon mode. • PDFs, cropped to the text so the margins don't waste your screen. Read & Listen joins a book to its audiobook. Read a chapter on the train, then play the audiobook in the car and it starts where you stopped reading. While it plays, the sentence being read shows on screen. Your place is kept for every book and sent back to your server, so you can put the phone down and pick up on another device. It uses the same progress format as KOReader, so a Kindle running KOReader and this app stay in step. Your reading time goes to your server's reading log too, and on BookOrbit 3.0 and later it's marked as reading, listening or Read Aloud. Download a book and it works with no network at all. Your library, your place, your notes and your highlights are all there offline. It also does: • Highlights and notes, searchable, and synced to your server. • Sign in with your password, or with the sign-in provider your server uses. • Send a book from the Files app to your server's library. • Send books to a CrossPoint e-ink reader on your Wi-Fi. • Reading Stats, from your server's reading log. • Spotlight, so your books turn up in search from the home screen. • A widget for whatever you're part way through. • Read Aloud, using the voices already on your phone. • Series grouping, collections, and a filing rule for right-to-left manga. • Fanfic Updates, if you want it: sign in to Archive of Our Own and Apogee checks the works you follow and brings new chapters into your library. Apogee is an unofficial app, not made or endorsed by AO3 or the Organization for Transformative Works. • iPad layouts, not a stretched phone app. • Guides for every feature at apogeereader.app. Apogee talks to your server. It talks to AO3 only if you sign in to Fanfic Updates, and your audiobook notes sync through your own iCloud account. Nothing comes to me unless you choose to send it. Apogee needs a BookOrbit server to be useful. It isn't a shop. It doesn't sell, supply or recommend books. It reads the library you already have. Apogee is built by one person. It's free, with no ads, no in-app purchases and no tracking.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Prologue Audiobook Player at 4.9 against Apogee Reader's 4.3. Prologue Audiobook Player also leads on review sentiment (85% vs 50%) and ratings volume (5.8K vs 6). Apogee Reader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7) and iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.5). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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
Both are free to download. Prologue Audiobook Player sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Apogee Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.
Prologue Audiobook Player holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Prologue Audiobook Player has 5.8K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of Prologue Audiobook Player's written reviews are positive against 50% of Apogee Reader's.
Prologue Audiobook Player ships an update every 5 days, Apogee Reader weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Prologue Audiobook Player | Apogee Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (5.8K ratings) — better | 4.3 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 84.5% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5.8K — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #198 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.5 | 18.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 120 MB | 43 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Prologue Audio Pty Ltd | Brian Banuag |
Customer experience
Prologue Audiobook Player
Apogee Reader
Bugs and requests
Prologue Audiobook Player
Reported bugs
2 issues- Slide-out pane not working in latest version
- Inconsistent behavior when removing/signing out of account
Requested features
4 requests- Apple Watch app
- Improved search and filtering
- Automatic bookmarking and sleep tracking
- Integration with other media platforms (e.g. Jellyfin)
Apogee Reader
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Prologue Audiobook Player
- Small tip$0.99
- Medium tip$2.99
- Prologue for Apple Watch$4.99
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- Large tip$5.99
- Premium (Family Upgrade)$7.99
- Premium$9.99
- Premium (Family)$17.99
Apogee Reader
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Prologue Audiobook Player free?
Is Apogee Reader free?
Which has better reviews, Prologue Audiobook Player or Apogee Reader?
Do Prologue Audiobook Player or Apogee Reader have ads?
Which is updated more often, Prologue Audiobook Player or Apogee Reader?
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