HPL Mobile vs VPL Mobile
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HPL Mobile
Access a vast digital collection of books, movies, and music. Manage your library account, discover new content through staff recommendations, and stay updated on library events and services.
- Digital collection access
- Online library card registration
- Virtual program viewing
- Collection search and saving
- Hold management
- Item renewal
- Library hours and locations
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Hamilton Public Library: Discover new books, movies, music, plan your next visit, and browse recommendations from library staff. Features: - Register today for your online library card - Download eBooks, eAudiobooks, music and more - Watch virtual programs - Search the collection and save titles for later - Place and manage holds - Renew checked out items - Check library hours, locations, services and events
VPL Mobile
Access your Vancouver Public Library account on the go. Borrow ebooks and audiobooks, manage holds, and discover new titles with staff recommendations. Your library card is now digital.
- Borrow ebooks and audiobooks
- Manage holds
- Digital library barcode
- Search library catalog
- Save titles for later
- Check hours and locations
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Use Vancouver Public Library app to discover new titles, borrow ebooks and audiobooks, place and manage holds, check your account, browse staff recommendations and more. Features: - Search the library catalogue - Display your library barcode on your phone - Check library hours and locations - Scan ISBN barcodes - Save titles for later
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: VPL Mobile at 3.9 against HPL Mobile's 2.9. VPL Mobile also leads on ratings volume (32 vs 8). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
VPL Mobile holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 2.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 32 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 53% of HPL Mobile's written reviews are positive against 47% of VPL Mobile's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
HPL Mobile ships an update every 3 months, VPL Mobile every 4 months. Both last shipped on October 12, 2026.
| Parameter | HPL Mobile | VPL Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.9 (8 ratings) | 3.9 (32 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 52.8% of reviews — better | 47.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 8 | 32 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 22 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | The Hamilton Public Library Board | Vancouver Public Library Board |
Customer experience
HPL Mobile
VPL Mobile
Bugs and requests
HPL Mobile
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
VPL Mobile
Reported bugs
29 issues- Buggy after updating to iOS17
- Not remembering login/session
- Error messages when loading content
- Constantly need to sign in
- App crashes a lot
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- Puts books never ordered in completed section
- Crashes when trying to access shelves
- New app very slow to open
- Old UI with bad user experience
- App crashes and does weird things
- Terrible app for accessing ebooks
- No way to search ebooks by availability
- No way to put ebooks on hold
- App sucks
- Won't accept password
- Not optimized for iPhone X
- Clunky UI
- Library card screen unreadable by library scanners
- Crashy McCrasherson version 2.0
- App opens but crashes on any interaction
- Needs to be updated and optimized
- Newest update: cannot see pictures of books
- Since the update can't open this app
- Login screen is blank since updating to iOS 7
- No longer lets me log in with iOS 7
- Cannot log in with iOS 7
- Doesn't work on iOS 7
- App just loads and loads and nothing works with iOS 7
- Search function seizes up & times out
Requested features
13 requests- Apple Wallet support
- Notifications for book readiness
- Option to turn on notifications
- Add children's accounts to parent account
- Add library card to Wallet/Passbook
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Optimize for newer iPhone models
- Improve barcode scanning for library scanners
- Add predictive search functionality
- Show book covers
- Map of nearby libraries
- Section for upcoming VPL events
- Dark mode option
- Option to choose 12/24 hour clock
In-app purchases
HPL Mobile
No in-app purchases
VPL Mobile
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is HPL Mobile free?
Is VPL Mobile free?
Which has better reviews, HPL Mobile or VPL Mobile?
Do HPL Mobile or VPL Mobile have ads?
Which is updated more often, HPL Mobile or VPL Mobile?
Other comparisons
