Comparison

Famous Books vs Gutenberg Reader + Many Books

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Famous Books

Explore a curated collection of 52 rare and world-famous manuscripts, incunabula, and printed works from the Bavarian State Library. View high-quality digital copies, zoom in on details, and discover cultural heritage from the Occident and Orient.

Highlights
  • Digital copies of rare books
  • Zoomable high-resolution images
  • Browse manuscripts and printed works
  • Occidental and Oriental collections
  • View cultural heritage
Features
Read full description

The Bayerische Staatsbibliothek is one of the biggest and most important universal libraries worldwide. Its vaults accommodate some of the most precious and world-famous works of mankind’s written cultural heritage. The app "Famous Books. Treasures of the Bavarian State Library” presents an exquisite selection of these holdings: 52 splendid manuscripts, unique incunabula and rare, precious printed works from the Occident and the Orient Only very rarely can the public view the physical manifestations of these treasures in exhibitions. The brilliant, complete digital copies of the exhibits - formatted for presentation on iPad and iPhone - provide a fascinating insight into the treasures held by the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. Users can browse through and freely zoom into the manuscripts and printed works from the first to the last page. Among the exhibits are, for example, the manuscript A of the Nibelungenlied (The Song of the Nibelungs), the eight volumes of the Ottheinrich Bible, an edition of each the Gutenberg Bible and the World Chronicle of Hartmann Schedel, the Babylonian Talmud and Wolfram von Eschenbach’s epic poem Parzival.

About

Gutenberg Reader + Many Books

Access over 100,000 free public domain eBooks from Project Gutenberg. Enjoy a customizable reading experience with features like text-to-speech, auto-scrolling, and note-taking. Download books for offline reading on any device.

Highlights
  • Unlimited eBook downloads
  • Customizable reading experience
  • Text-to-Speech (TTS) mode
  • Auto-scrolling mode
  • Bookmark, highlight, and notes
  • Offline reading
Features
Read full description

Gutenberg Reader – The Ultimate Free eBook & Classic Book Reader Discover 100,000+ Free eBooks with Project Gutenberg If you love books, novels, and classic literature, this is the perfect eBook reader for you! With Gutenberg Reader, you can access over 100,000 free eBooks from Project Gutenberg, including timeless classics, historical texts, philosophy, poetry, and more. Enjoy reading legendary works from Jane Austen, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, Victor Hugo, Emily Brontë, and many others—all legally available in the public domain. What is Project Gutenberg? Project Gutenberg is the largest digital library of free public domain eBooks, offering a vast collection of literature, philosophy, history, and poetry—completely free and legally accessible. Whether you're interested in classic novels, educational texts, famous speeches, or timeless stories, you'll find endless reading material at your fingertips. Top Features of Gutenberg Reader ・ Unlimited eBook Downloads – Download books for offline reading anytime. ・ Customizable Reading Experience – Adjust fonts, themes, colors, margins, and more. ・ AUDIO: Text-to-Speech (TTS) Mode – Listen to your favorite books while reading along. ・ Auto-Scrolling Mode – Hands-free reading without flipping pages. ・ Full-Screen Mode – Distraction-free reading with an immersive experience. ・ Bookmark, Highlight & Notes – Save quotes, mark passages, and take notes. ・ Big & Bold Fonts – Ideal for easy readability and accessibility. ・ Smart Resume Feature – Pick up reading right where you left off. ・ Optimized for All Devices – Works smoothly on both phones and tablets. Popular Free Books Available in Gutenberg Reader Discover a vast collection of classic literature, novels, and timeless books, including: ・ Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen ・ Alice's Adventures in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll ・ The Adventures of Tom Sawyer – Mark Twain ・ A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens ・ The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People – Oscar Wilde ・ The Yellow Wallpaper – Charlotte Perkins Gilman ・ Frankenstein – Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ・ Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain ・ A Doll's House – Henrik Ibsen ・ Metamorphosis – Franz Kafka ・ The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Arthur Conan Doyle ・ Moby-Dick – Herman Melville ・ Dracula – Bram Stoker ・ Grimms' Fairy Tales – Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm ・ The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde ・ Great Expectations – Charles Dickens ・ Ulysses – James Joyce ・ Emma – Jane Austen ・ Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad ・ Jane Eyre: An Autobiography – Charlotte Brontë ・ The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas ・ Siddhartha – Hermann Hesse ・ Dubliners – James Joyce ・ Treasure Island – Robert Louis Stevenson ・ Les Misérables – Victor Hugo ・ Leviathan – Thomas Hobbes ・ Peter Pan – J.M. Barrie ・ Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen ・ The Brothers Karamazov – Fyodor Dostoyevsky ・ Leaves of Grass – Walt Whitman ・ The Souls of Black Folk – W.E.B. Du Bois ・ Beyond Good and Evil – Friedrich Nietzsche ・ Wuthering Heights – Emily Brontë ・ A Study in Scarlet – Arthur Conan Doyle ・ Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky …and thousands more free eBooks! Why Choose Gutenberg Reader? With Gutenberg Reader, you can carry a massive digital library of classic books, novels, and free eBooks wherever you go. Whether you love fiction, history, philosophy, poetry, or educational texts, this app gives you unlimited access to some of the greatest literary works of all time—without ads and completely free! Start Reading Today! Download Gutenberg Reader now and explore the world’s greatest free eBook library. Whether you're a book lover, student, researcher, or casual reader, this app is your gateway to endless knowledge and literary adventures—all from the palm of your hand. Happy Reading!

Screenshots

Famous Books4 screens
Gutenberg Reader + Many Books4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Famous Books at 94% against Gutenberg Reader + Many Books's 45%. Famous Books also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.6) and ads (none vs shown). Gutenberg Reader + Many Books's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 7 months) and ratings volume (116 vs 30). On price, in-app purchases and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Famous Books holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 30 and 116 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 94% of Famous Books's written reviews are positive against 45% of Gutenberg Reader + Many Books's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Famous Books ships an update every 7 months, Gutenberg Reader + Many Books every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Famous Books versus Gutenberg Reader + Many Books: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFamous BooksGutenberg Reader + Many Books
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (30 ratings) — better3.6 (116 ratings)
Positive reviews94.3% of reviews — better44.7% of reviews
Number of ratings30116 — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size238 MB20 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperBayerische StaatsbibliothekHaven Tran

Customer experience

Famous Books

All ratings30 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.7%
Written reviews88 reviews
Positive94.3%
Neutral4.5%
Negative1.1%

Gutenberg Reader + Many Books

All ratings116 ratings
Positive62.1%
Neutral7.8%
Negative30.2%
Written reviews38 reviews
Positive44.7%
Neutral2.6%
Negative52.6%

In-app purchases

None

Famous Books

No in-app purchases

None

Gutenberg Reader + Many Books

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Famous Books free?
Famous Books is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Gutenberg Reader + Many Books free?
Gutenberg Reader + Many Books is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Famous Books or Gutenberg Reader + Many Books?
Famous Books is rated higher. Famous Books averages 4.7 out of 5 from 30 ratings, while Gutenberg Reader + Many Books averages 3.6 from 116 ratings.
Do Famous Books or Gutenberg Reader + Many Books have ads?
Gutenberg Reader + Many Books shows ads; Famous Books does not.
Which is updated more often, Famous Books or Gutenberg Reader + Many Books?
Famous Books ships an update every 7 months, and Gutenberg Reader + Many Books every 3 weeks. Most recently, Famous Books was updated on September 23, 2026 and Gutenberg Reader + Many Books on September 21, 2026.

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