# PlainZen vs Audiobooks

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Audiobooks at 77% against PlainZen's 0%. Audiobooks also leads on price (Free vs $1.99) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 13 months). PlainZen's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On device support there is nothing between them.

Audiobooks is free to download; PlainZen costs $1.99 up front. Audiobooks sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PlainZen asks for nothing beyond the download.

PlainZen holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Audiobooks has 2.2K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 0% of PlainZen's written reviews are positive against 77% of Audiobooks's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

PlainZen ships an update every 13 months, Audiobooks every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 10, 2026 and September 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PlainZen | Audiobooks |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $1.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/plainzen/id366968925/reviews)** | [4.3 (2.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/audiobooks-librivox-library/id737369671/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 2 | **2.2K** |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | **77.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 13 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 6 MB | 19 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Vicente Malixi](https://appshunter.io/developer/355896066) | [Le Thanh Quang](https://appshunter.io/developer/628502566) |

## What reviewers say

### PlainZen

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/plainzen/id366968925)

This tutorial explains Zen in simple terms, focusing on its practical application in daily life. It demystifies Zen by avoiding jargon and historical details, emphasizing how it works and improves well-being for anyone, regardless of background. The app includes features to bookmark your progress and navigate through various topics.

**Highlights:** Plain language Zen explanation, Focus on practical application, Avoids jargon and rituals, Bookmark functionality, Table of contents navigation, Covers core Zen concepts

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

**In-app purchases:** none


### Audiobooks

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/audiobooks-librivox-library/id737369671)

Access a vast library of over 150,000 classic audiobooks and podcasts. Listen anywhere, download for offline playback, and engage with a community through comments and votes. Turn downtime into listening time with this extensive collection.

**Highlights:** 150,000+ classic audiobooks, Podcast listening, Offline downloads, Search and category browsing, Community comments and votes, High-quality audio

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove Ads | $1.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Surprisingly good reading
- 📚 Impressive collection of public domain literature
- 👍 Great, free audio books
- 👍 Huge selection of great books
- 👍 Offline audios work great

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Doesn't let you selectively download in bits and pieces
- 🐛 Cannot exit the app during reading
- 🐛 Search engine is outdated
- 🐛 Cannot login without Facebook or Google
- 🐛 Ads are not closable on iPhone 12

**Reported bugs**

- Cannot open or play any books
- Keeps forcing user to write a review before allowing further use

**Requested features**

- Add stop button and bookmark button
- Add ability to speed up narration
- Add more modern and popular book titles
- Add more children's books suitable for 9-year-olds
- Add sleep timer


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PlainZen free?

PlainZen costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Audiobooks free?

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

### Which has better reviews, PlainZen or Audiobooks?

PlainZen is rated higher. PlainZen averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Audiobooks averages 4.3 from 2.2K ratings.

### Do PlainZen or Audiobooks have ads?

Audiobooks shows ads; PlainZen does not.

### Which is updated more often, PlainZen or Audiobooks?

PlainZen ships an update every 13 months, and Audiobooks every 3 weeks. Most recently, PlainZen was updated on September 10, 2026 and Audiobooks on September 2, 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.*