Amazon Kindle vs Libby, the library app
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Amazon Kindle
Access a vast library of eBooks, magazines, and comics on your mobile device. Customize your reading experience with adjustable text, brightness, and page-turning options. Look up words, track progress, and sync across devices.
- Read purchased eBooks
- Access Kindle Unlimited
- Customizable text and display
- Built-in dictionary and lookup
- Track reading progress
- Sync reading across devices
- Listen to Audible books
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READ ANYTIME, ANYWHERE On the bus, on your break, in your bed—never be without a book. Kindle books you have purchased on Amazon will automatically appear in your app. Kindle Unlimited and Amazon Prime members can select and download Kindle books directly in the app. FIND YOUR NEXT GREAT READ • Read the books you buy on Amazon in the Kindle app. Choose from over six million Kindle books (including those with Audible narration), magazines, and comics and start reading in seconds. Explore Amazon Charts best sellers and titles across genres like romance, science fiction, children’s books, self-help, religion, nonfiction, and more—and try any book with a free sample straight from the Kindle app. • Kindle Unlimited members can enjoy unlimited reading and listening, with the freedom to explore over 1 million titles, thousands of audiobooks, and current magazines. • Over 1,000 books, magazines, comics, and more included with Amazon Prime. GO BEYOND PAPER Turn your iPhone or iPad into a book with the free Kindle app—so you can read anytime, anywhere. Explore these reading features in the Kindle app: • Read your way. Customize your text size, font type, margins, text alignment, and orientation (portrait or landscape)—and choose whether to turn pages from left to right or continuously scroll. Read comfortably day and night with adjustable brightness and background colors. Go to the Aa menu in your book to get started. • Look up words, people, and places while you read. Breeze through words you don’t know and characters you can’t remember with the built-in dictionary, X-Ray, Wikipedia lookup, instant translations, and search within your book. Simply tap and hold a word to view its definition, or use the Google and Wikipedia links to get more information. • Track your reading progress. See what percent of the book you’ve read, real page numbers (for most top titles), and how much time you have left in the chapter or book based on your actual reading speed. • Bookmark places you want to revisit, and make highlights and take notes throughout your book. Open My Notebook to see all your notes in the same place. • Hop, skim, and jump with Page Flip. Flip between pages or get a bird’s-eye view of your book with Page Flip—don’t worry, we’ll save your place. • Zoom in on high-definition color images in Kindle books, magazines, comics, and manga. • Sync your books across devices. When you’re reading a book, the Kindle app will automatically sync where you left off—along with any bookmarks, highlights, or notes—so you can start reading on one device and pick up where you left off on another. • When you can’t read, listen. Switch seamlessly from reading your Kindle book to listening to the Audible book, all within the Kindle app. • Get notified when authors you love have new releases. By using this app, you agree to Amazon’s Conditions of Use (www.amazon.com/conditionsofuse) and Privacy Notice (www.amazon.com/privacy).
Libby, the library app
Access your local library's digital collection of ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines for free. Read or listen on your phone or tablet, download titles for offline use, and personalize your reading experience with customizable settings.
- Borrow ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines
- Send ebooks to Kindle (US only)
- Offline reading and listening
- Customizable reading experience
- Adjustable audiobook playback speed
- Sleep timer for audiobooks
- Organize titles with tags
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Libby connects you to your local library’s collection of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, and more. With just your library card, you can instantly read or listen to books on your phone or tablet — for free, thanks to your public library! Browse and borrow everything from timeless classics to the latest New York Times bestsellers, and enjoy your next great read anytime, anywhere. What You Can Do with Libby - Browse your library’s digital catalog of books - Borrow and enjoy ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines - Send ebooks to your Kindle (U.S. libraries only) - Listen to audiobooks through Apple CarPlay - Download titles for offline reading, or stream them to save space - Use tags to create to-be--read lists or organize your favorite titles - Keep your reading position with automatic syncing across all your devices A Beautiful Reading Experience Enjoy a seamless reading experience with Libby’s elegant, easy-to-use ebook reader: - Adjust text size, background color, and book design to fit your preferences - Zoom into magazines, comics, and graphic novels - Define and search for words or phrases instantly - Read and listen to interactive read-alongs with your kids - Add bookmarks, notes, and highlights to personalize your reading An Immersive Audiobook Player Libby’s audiobook player makes listening effortless and enjoyable: - Slow down or speed up playback (0.6x to 3.0x) - Set a sleep timer for nighttime listening - Swipe easily to skip forward or backward - Add bookmarks, notes, and highlights as you listen Read Anywhere, Anytime Libby is designed for everyone, including kids, teens, and adults. Whether you’re exploring new stories, catching up on bestsellers, or revisiting your favorite books, Libby keeps reading simple, fun, and accessible. Built by OverDrive, Libby proudly supports public libraries and the joy of reading for all. Download Libby today and turn your device into your personal library.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Libby, the library app at free against Amazon Kindle's free with in-app purchases. Libby, the library app also leads on review sentiment (84% vs 68%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). Amazon Kindle's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly). On price, rating, ratings volume 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Amazon Kindle against 4.9 for Libby, the library app. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5.9M and 4.6M respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 68% of Amazon Kindle's written reviews are positive against 84% of Libby, the library app's.
Amazon Kindle ships an update fortnightly, Libby, the library app monthly. Both last shipped on November 4, 2026.
| Parameter | Amazon Kindle | Libby, the library app |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (5.9M ratings) — better | 4.9 (4.6M ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 67.7% of reviews | 83.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 5.9M — better | 4.6M |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #4 | #2 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 206 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | AMZN Mobile LLC | OverDrive, Inc. |
Customer experience
Amazon Kindle
Libby, the library app
User reviews
Amazon Kindle
From 5.9M App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 📚 Huge library of books
- 📱 Portable and convenient
- 🔍 Useful features like dictionary lookup and highlighting
- 🌙 Adjustable reading settings (font, brightness, etc.)
- 🔁 Seamless syncing across devices
Room to improve
- 🛒 Cannot purchase books directly in the app
- 🗂️ Difficulty organizing and managing large book libraries
- 🔍 Inconsistent behavior when highlighting/taking notes
- 🔄 Unreliable syncing between devices
- 🔌 Drains device battery quickly
Libby, the library app
From 4.6M App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 📚 Extensive library of books and audiobooks
- 🔍 Convenient search and browsing features
- 🔖 Easy to manage holds and returns
- 🔄 Seamless syncing across devices
- 🕰️ Automatic returns to avoid late fees
Room to improve
- 🕰️ Long wait times for popular titles
- 🔍 Confusing search and filtering options
- 🤯 Buggy and unstable performance
- 🔒 Lack of offline reading/listening
- 📚 Limited selection in some genres
Bugs and requests
Amazon Kindle
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes or freezes when switching between apps
- Incompatibility issues with newer iOS versions
- Dictionary lookup feature not working reliably
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to create and manage collections/folders for books
- Option to easily see which books have been read vs unread
- Improved highlighting and note-taking functionality
- Better syncing between Kindle devices and apps
- Dark mode and other customization options
Libby, the library app
Reported bugs
5 issues- Frequent app crashes and freezes
- Issues with downloading and syncing content
- Unreliable playback controls for audiobooks
- Inconsistent behavior when placing holds
- Disappearing reading history and bookmarks
Requested features
6 requests- Ability to search across multiple libraries
- Custom reading/listening speed controls
- Improved recommendation and discovery tools
- Option to purchase unavailable titles
- Customizable reading experience (fonts, themes)
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- Integration with other e-book/audiobook services
In-app purchases
Amazon Kindle
No in-app purchases
Libby, the library app
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Amazon Kindle free?
Is Libby, the library app free?
Which has better reviews, Amazon Kindle or Libby, the library app?
Do Amazon Kindle or Libby, the library app have ads?
Which is updated more often, Amazon Kindle or Libby, the library app?
Which is more popular, Amazon Kindle or Libby, the library app?
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