The Palace Project vs SCLD Libraries
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.
SCLD Libraries
Access a vast collection of books, movies, music, and more from your local library. Search the catalog, manage loans, place holds, and access your digital library card. Keep track of your interests and manage family accounts.
- Search entire catalog
- Manage holds and due dates
- Renew eligible items
- Access digital library card
- Create interest lists
- Manage family accounts
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Spokane County Library District brings you the SCLD Libraries app to find new books, movies, music, and more! Quickly search the entire catalog, including the Library of Things and our digital collection of eBooks, audiobooks, and streaming music, movies, and TV. Place holds, check due dates, and renew eligible titles right in the app. With the SCLD Libraries app, you can: – Search the catalog – Check due dates – Place and manage holds – Renew eligible items – View your borrowing history – Access your digital library card barcode – Create lists to track your interests – Manage your family's borrowing through Linked Accounts Spokane County Library District includes 10 full-service libraries: Airway Heights Library, Argonne Library, Cheney Library, Deer Park Library, Fairfield Library, Medical Lake Library, Moran Prairie Library, North Spokane Library, Otis Orchards Library, and Spokane Valley Library as well as its mobile library, LINC. Spokane County Library District serves Spokane County, Washington, and the affiliated cities and towns of Cheney, Deer Park, Fairfield, Latah, Medical Lake, Millwood, Rockford, Spangle, Spokane Valley, Waverly, and Airway Heights.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: The Palace Project at 4.6 against SCLD Libraries's 2.5. The Palace Project also leads on ratings volume (5.5K vs 14) and chart position (#91 vs unranked). SCLD Libraries's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Palace Project has 5.5K ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 27% of The Palace Project's written reviews are positive against 33% of SCLD Libraries'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, SCLD Libraries monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Palace Project | SCLD Libraries |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (5.5K ratings) — better | 2.5 (14 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 27.1% of reviews | 33.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 5.5K — better | 14 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #91 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 50 MB | 56 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | The Palace Project | Spokane County Library District |
Customer experience
The Palace Project
SCLD Libraries
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
SCLD Libraries
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
The Palace Project
No in-app purchases
SCLD Libraries
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is The Palace Project free?
Is SCLD Libraries free?
Which has better reviews, The Palace Project or SCLD Libraries?
Do The Palace Project or SCLD Libraries have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Palace Project or SCLD Libraries?
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