Comparison

Famous Books vs Swedenborg Reader

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

Swedenborg Reader

Access and search the theological writings of Emanuel Swedenborg and the Holy Bible. Offers multiple translations and interfaces in 25 languages for in-depth study.

Highlights
  • Read theological works of Emanuel Swedenborg
  • Search Holy Bible texts
  • Multiple Bible translations
  • 25 language interfaces
  • Cross-reference texts
Read full description

The Swedenborg Reader is an app for reading and searching the theological works of Emanuel Swedenborg and the Holy Bible. It provides user interfaces in 25 languages and offers multiple translations of both Swedenborg’s works and the Bible for each supported language.

Screenshots

Famous Books4 screens
Swedenborg Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Swedenborg Reader at every 2 months against Famous Books's every 7 months. Swedenborg Reader also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and device support (4 vs 2). Famous Books's advantage is ratings volume (30 vs 10). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Swedenborg Reader holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 30 and 10 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Famous Books ships an update every 7 months, Swedenborg Reader every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Famous Books versus Swedenborg Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFamous BooksSwedenborg Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (30 ratings)5.0 (10 ratings) — better
Positive reviews94.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings30 — better10
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size238 MB26 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperBayerische StaatsbibliothekSkyMark Corporation

Customer experience

Famous Books

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

Swedenborg Reader

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Famous Books

No in-app purchases

None

Swedenborg Reader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Famous Books free?
Famous Books is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Swedenborg Reader free?
Swedenborg Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Famous Books or Swedenborg Reader?
Swedenborg Reader is rated higher. Famous Books averages 4.7 out of 5 from 30 ratings, while Swedenborg Reader averages 5.0 from 10 ratings.
Do Famous Books or Swedenborg Reader have ads?
Neither Famous Books nor Swedenborg Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Famous Books or Swedenborg Reader?
Famous Books ships an update every 7 months, and Swedenborg Reader every 2 months. Most recently, Famous Books was updated on November 1, 2026 and Swedenborg Reader on November 3, 2026.

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