# Famous Books vs Gutenberg Project

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Famous Books at 94% against Gutenberg Project's 41%. Famous Books also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.3) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). Gutenberg Project's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 7 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Gutenberg Project sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Famous Books asks for nothing beyond the download.

Famous Books holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 30 and 43 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 94% of Famous Books's written reviews are positive against 41% of Gutenberg Project's.

Famous Books ships an update every 7 months, Gutenberg Project every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Famous Books | Gutenberg Project |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (30 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/famous-books/id380668385/reviews)** | [3.3 (43 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gutenberg-project/id672017144/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 30 | **43** |
| Positive reviews | **94.3% of reviews** | 40.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Paid |
| Size | 238 MB | 26 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 9+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Bayerische Staatsbibliothek](https://appshunter.io/developer/380668388) | [himalaya-soft](https://appshunter.io/developer/464715011) |

## What reviewers say

### Famous Books

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/famous-books/id380668385)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Gutenberg Project

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gutenberg-project/id672017144)

Access over 60,000 classic books and 7,000 human-read audiobooks from Project Gutenberg. Enjoy a beautiful reading experience with synchronized audio and text, intelligent table of contents, and personalized recommendations based on user data. Export books with notes and bookmarks.

**Highlights:** Access 60,000+ classic books, 7,000+ human-read audiobooks, Synchronized read-along audio/text, Intelligent Table of Contents, Big data-driven recommendations, Export books with notes/bookmarks

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlimited Reading | $2.99 | one-time |
| Unlimited Listening | $2.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 📚 Access to classics
- 🆓 Free public domain books
- 👍 Easy to read presentation
- ✨ Beautiful layout
- 🎧 Audiobook availability

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App not working
- 🐌 Navigation is awful
- 🗑️ Trash app
- ❌ No pages showing
- 😵 Eye strain color combinations

**Reported bugs**

- 504 bad gateway errors
- App not working at all
- App not showing any pages
- Search doesn't find anything but error 404
- Stopped working, will not load catalog

**Requested features**

- Ability to choose favorite colors for reading
- Paid premium version with custom color combinations
- Sourcing more Gutenberg sites
- Option to make text black on white
- Continuous ad at bottom or top instead of full page


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Famous Books free?

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

### Is Gutenberg Project free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Famous Books or Gutenberg Project?

Famous Books is rated higher. Famous Books averages 4.7 out of 5 from 30 ratings, while Gutenberg Project averages 3.3 from 43 ratings.

### Do Famous Books or Gutenberg Project have ads?

Neither Famous Books nor Gutenberg Project shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Famous Books or Gutenberg Project?

Famous Books ships an update every 7 months, and Gutenberg Project every 2 months. Most recently, Famous Books was updated on November 1, 2026 and Gutenberg Project on November 6, 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.*