# Apple Books vs Books Reader

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Apple Books at none against Books Reader's 9. Apple Books also leads on ratings volume (143K vs 22) and review sentiment (54% vs 38%). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Books Reader sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Apple Books asks for nothing beyond the download.

Books Reader holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Apple Books has 143K ratings behind it against 22, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 54% of Apple Books's written reviews are positive against 38% of Books Reader's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Apple Books | Books Reader |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (143K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/apple-books/id364709193/reviews) | **[4.7 (22 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/books-reader-pocket-library/id1550557954/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **143K** | 22 |
| Positive reviews | **54.4% of reviews** | 37.5% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 17 MB | 59 MB |
| Requires iOS | **10.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Apple](https://appshunter.io/developer/284417353) | [Villow](https://appshunter.io/developer/1550558286) |

## What reviewers say

### 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, iPhone Duo 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


### Books Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/books-reader-pocket-library/id1550557954)

This app provides a seamless e-reading experience, managing your ebook collection and offering customizable reading settings. It supports various formats and includes features like bookmarking, note-taking, and a read/unread tracker.

**Highlights:** Supports multiple ebook formats (epub, fb2, mobi, PDF), Manages and organizes ebook collections, Customizable text size, color, theme, and brightness, Progress tracking and bookmarking, Note-taking and excerpt selection, Read/unread book tracker, Filtering and search functionality

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Regular donation | $1.99 | per month |
| Regular donation | $3.99 | per month |
| Regular donation | $5.99 | per month |
| Regular donation | $9.99 | per month |
| Donation | $1.99 | one-time |
| Donation | $3.99 | one-time |
| Donation | $5.99 | one-time |
| Donation | $9.99 | one-time |
| Custom Fonts & Themes | $9.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Apple Books free?

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

### Is Books Reader free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Apple Books or Books Reader?

Books Reader is rated higher. Apple Books averages 4.6 out of 5 from 143K ratings, while Books Reader averages 4.7 from 22 ratings.

### Do Apple Books or Books Reader have ads?

Neither Apple Books nor Books Reader shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Apple Books or Books Reader?

Apple Books ships an update every 3 months, and Books Reader every 3 months. Most recently, Apple Books was updated on November 11, 2026 and Books Reader on November 3, 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.*