# Amazon Kindle vs Apple Books

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Apple Books at none against Amazon Kindle's 12. Apple Books also leads on iOS requirement (10.0 vs 17.0). Amazon Kindle's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.4) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 4 months). On price, ads, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Amazon Kindle sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $13.99 per month. Apple Books asks for nothing beyond the download.

Amazon Kindle holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Amazon Kindle has 5.8M ratings behind it against 89K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of Amazon Kindle's written reviews are positive against 52% of Apple Books's.

Amazon Kindle ships an update fortnightly, Apple Books every 4 months. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Amazon Kindle | Apple Books |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.9 (5.8M ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/amazon-kindle-reading-app/id302584613/reviews)** | [4.4 (89K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/apple-books/id364709193/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **5.8M** | 89K |
| Positive reviews | **68.2% of reviews** | 52.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 4 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#4** | — |
| Size | 198 MB | 17 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **10.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [AMZN Mobile LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/297606954) | [Apple](https://appshunter.io/developer/284417353) |

## What reviewers say

### Amazon Kindle

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/amazon-kindle-reading-app/id302584613)

**Currently charting:** #4 Top Free · Book (US App Store)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (12)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kindle Unlimited | $13.99 | per month |
| Kindle Unlimited | $13.99 | per month |
| 140 Tokens - Kindle Vella (US) | $1.39 | one-time |
| 100 Tokens - Kindle Vella (US) | $1.39 | one-time |
| 140 Tokens - Kindle Vella (US) | $1.99 | one-time |
| 368 Tokens - Kindle Vella (US) | $3.49 | one-time |
| 300 Tokens - Kindle Vella (US) | $3.99 | one-time |
| 368 Tokens - Kindle Vella (US) | $4.99 | one-time |
| 770 Tokens - Kindle Vella (US) | $6.99 | one-time |
| 770 Tokens - Kindle Vella (US) | $9.99 | one-time |
| 900 Tokens - Kindle Vella (US) | $11.49 | one-time |
| 2000 Tokens - Kindle Vella(US) | $23.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 📚 Huge library of books
- 📱 Portable and convenient
- 🔍 Useful features like dictionary lookup and highlighting
- 🌙 Adjustable reading settings (font, brightness, etc.)
- 🔁 Seamless syncing across devices

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🛒 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

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes or freezes when switching between apps
- Incompatibility issues with newer iOS versions
- Dictionary lookup feature not working reliably

**Requested features**

- 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


### Apple Books

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/apple-books/id364709193)

Discover, read, and listen to millions of books and audiobooks. Browse curated collections, personalized recommendations, and bestsellers. Customize your reading experience with various themes and settings, and set reading goals to build a habit. Share your library with family.

**Highlights:** Discover millions of books and audiobooks, Personalized recommendations and curated collections, Customizable reading experience (fonts, themes, spacing), Reading goals and progress tracking, Family Sharing for books and audiobooks, Apple CarPlay and Apple Watch integration

**Features:** Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Seamless integration across devices
- 📚 Vast library of books available
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 🎧 Exceptional audiobook experience

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Books get deleted from local storage
- 🐛 Unreliable syncing between devices
- 🔒 Lack of audio closed captions
- 🤔 Pricing concerns for some books
- 🤔 Frustrating UI changes in recent updates

**Reported bugs**

- Books randomly deleted from device
- Syncing issues between iPhone and iPad
- Scrolling and navigation glitches
- Inconsistent font and formatting issues
- Inability to download books over cellular data

**Requested features**

- Audio closed captions for audiobooks
- Ability to organize books by series
- Custom font and highlighter color options
- Syncing for audiobooks across devices
- Integration with book review platforms


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Amazon Kindle free?

Amazon Kindle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Apple Books free?

Apple Books is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Amazon Kindle or Apple Books?

Amazon Kindle is rated higher. Amazon Kindle averages 4.9 out of 5 from 5.8M ratings, while Apple Books averages 4.4 from 89K ratings.

### Do Amazon Kindle or Apple Books have ads?

Neither Amazon Kindle nor Apple Books shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Amazon Kindle or Apple Books?

Amazon Kindle ships an update fortnightly, and Apple Books every 4 months. Most recently, Amazon Kindle was updated on September 24, 2026 and Apple Books on September 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.*