# Kobo Books & Audiobooks vs Broadside Reader

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Kobo Books & Audiobooks at none against Broadside Reader's 2. Kobo Books & Audiobooks also leads on chart position (#60 vs unranked). Broadside Reader's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs monthly). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Broadside Reader sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Kobo Books & Audiobooks asks for nothing beyond the download.

Kobo Books & Audiobooks ships an update monthly, Broadside Reader every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Kobo Books & Audiobooks | Broadside Reader |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (28K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kobo-books-and-audiobooks/id301259483/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **28K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 60.3% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Best chart rank | **#60** | — |
| Size | 780 MB | 11 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, Apple TV |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Rakuten Kobo Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/301259486) | [Oswald Gyabaah](https://appshunter.io/developer/1886312847) |

## What reviewers say

### Kobo Books & Audiobooks

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kobo-books-and-audiobooks/id301259483)

**Currently charting:** #60 Top Free · Book (US App Store)

Access millions of eBooks and audiobooks with a customizable reading experience. Seamlessly sync your progress, notes, and highlights across devices. Discover new stories and enjoy hands-free listening with text-to-speech.

**Highlights:** Millions of eBooks and audiobooks, Customizable reading experience, Seamless cross-device syncing, Guest Mode for browsing, Text-to-speech for hands-free listening, CarPlay support

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Wide selection of books
- 💰 Affordable pricing
- 📚 Syncs across devices
- 🎨 Customizable reading experience

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Synchronization issues
- 🤔 Difficult to navigate
- 🔍 Poor search/discovery
- 📖 Unreliable bookmarking
- 🔧 Buggy updates

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent crashes
- Disappearing annotations
- Incorrect page tracking
- Audiobook playback issues

**Requested features**

- Continuous scrolling option
- Improved annotation tools
- Better integration with other reading apps
- More font and theme options


### Broadside Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/broadside-reader/id6797692349)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Annual | $24.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Kobo Books & Audiobooks free?

Kobo Books & Audiobooks is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Broadside Reader free?

Broadside Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Kobo Books & Audiobooks or Broadside Reader have ads?

Neither Kobo Books & Audiobooks nor Broadside Reader shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Kobo Books & Audiobooks or Broadside Reader?

Kobo Books & Audiobooks ships an update monthly, and Broadside Reader every 3 days. Most recently, Kobo Books & Audiobooks was updated on November 1, 2026 and Broadside Reader on October 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*