The Palace Project vs Boundless
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
Boundless
Access a vast collection of ebooks, digital audiobooks, and videobooks from your local library or school. Enjoy a seamless reading, listening, and watching experience with personalized recommendations and engaging reading programs.
- Discover ebooks, audiobooks, and videobooks
- Read, listen, and watch in one app
- Personalized recommendations
- Join library reading programs
- Track reading progress and earn badges
- Customizable reading experience
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Boundless by Baker & Taylor gives users the ability to discover and enjoy ebooks, digital audiobooks, video and videobooks from their library or school on mobile devices. • Read, listen, and watch all in one app • Supports eRead-Along and videobook content • Recommendations based on your interests • Join reading programs and challenges from your library • See your progress and earn badges for reading achievements • Notetaking, bookmarking, page layout and font controls Boundless is a digital content service from Baker & Taylor, the premier distributor of books and entertainment products to libraries. Boundless Library is a service from Baker & Taylor, the premier distributor of books and entertainment products.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is chart position: The Palace Project at #92 against Boundless's unranked. The Palace Project also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly). Boundless's advantage is ratings volume (18K vs 5.2K). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5.2K and 18K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 27% of The Palace Project's written reviews are positive against 32% of Boundless's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
The Palace Project ships an update fortnightly, Boundless monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Palace Project | Boundless |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (5.2K ratings) — better | 4.4 (18K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 26.6% of reviews | 32.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 5.2K | 18K — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #92 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 177 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | The Palace Project | Baker & Taylor |
Customer experience
The Palace Project
Boundless
User reviews
The Palace Project
From 5.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great selection of books
- 💡 Convenient access to library books
- 👍 Simple and easy to use
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent glitches and bugs
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🔍 Poor search functionality
- 🤯 Inconsistent user experience
Boundless
From 18K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast access to books
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to navigate
- 🔒 Separate profiles for kids and adults
- 🎨 Customizable reading experience
- 📚 Wide selection of content
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent freezing and crashes
- ⏱️ Slow loading times
- 🔍 Difficulty finding and accessing books
- 📱 Incompatible with some devices
- 🔌 Requires internet connection for offline use
Bugs and 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
Boundless
Reported bugs
4 issues- Books disappearing from user's shelf
- Inability to return or renew books
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between profiles
- Audiobook playback issues
Requested features
5 requests- Improved page turning and navigation controls
- Ability to adjust margins and font settings
- Offline access to downloaded content
- Better integration with other reading apps
- More detailed progress tracking and analytics
In-app purchases
The Palace Project
No in-app purchases
Boundless
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is The Palace Project free?
Is Boundless free?
Which has better reviews, The Palace Project or Boundless?
Do The Palace Project or Boundless have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Palace Project or Boundless?
Other comparisons
