NOBLE Libraries vs The Palace Project
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NOBLE Libraries
Access a shared library catalog to search for books, place holds, and manage your account. Use your digital library card for convenient borrowing. Requires a library card from a participating NOBLE member library.
- Search shared library catalog
- Place holds on items
- View library account
- Use digital library card
- Access member libraries
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Download the NOBLE Libraries app to search the shared library catalog for the member libraries of NOBLE, the North of Boston Library Exchange. You can place holds, view your library account, use a digital library card and more. To use this app, you must have a library card from a member library. If you need a library card or have questions about your account, please contact your local library.
The Palace Project
Access and enjoy e-books and audiobooks from your local library for free. Discover new titles, borrow them instantly with your library card, and read or listen anywhere. Even without a participating library, enjoy a collection of free books.
- Borrow e-books and audiobooks
- Access local library collections
- Read or listen to books
- Free Palace Bookshelf collection
- Requires library card for full access
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Palace is a free, easy-to-use e-reader app that lets you find, check out, and read or listen to books from your local library. It’s been said that libraries are “palaces for the people” and the Palace app gives you instant access to your local “palace” any time, right from the palm of your hand. All you need to sign up is your library card! And even if your library isn’t using Palace yet, you can still read more than 10,000 books--from children’s books to classics to foreign language books--for free from our Palace Bookshelf. The Palace app is built and maintained by Lyrasis, a not-for-profit organization working in partnership with Digital Public Library of America with funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. For more, visit https://thepalaceproject.org.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: The Palace Project at fortnightly against NOBLE Libraries's every 9 months. The Palace Project also leads on ratings volume (5.5K vs 7) and rating (4.6 vs 4.4). NOBLE Libraries's advantage is review sentiment (50% vs 27%) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
The Palace Project holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Palace Project has 5.5K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of NOBLE Libraries's written reviews are positive against 27% of The Palace Project's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
NOBLE Libraries ships an update every 9 months, The Palace Project fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NOBLE Libraries | The Palace Project |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (7 ratings) | 4.6 (5.5K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better | 27.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 7 | 5.5K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | — | #95 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 50 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Kenneth Cox | The Palace Project |
Customer experience
NOBLE Libraries
The Palace Project
Bugs and requests
NOBLE Libraries
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
The Palace Project
Reported bugs
4 issues- Books not downloading properly
- Losing place in audiobooks
- Crashing and freezing issues
- Incompatibility with certain devices
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to track read/listened books
- Improved audiobook playback controls
- Dark mode option
- Integration with Kindle
In-app purchases
NOBLE Libraries
No in-app purchases
The Palace Project
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is NOBLE Libraries free?
Is The Palace Project free?
Which has better reviews, NOBLE Libraries or The Palace Project?
Do NOBLE Libraries or The Palace Project have ads?
Which is updated more often, NOBLE Libraries or The Palace Project?
Other comparisons
