Comparison

Onleihe vs Kosmos

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

Head to head
About

Onleihe

Access and borrow eBooks, eMagazines, eAudio, and eMusic from your local library. Browse collections, search for titles, and enjoy offline reading and listening. Titles are automatically returned after the lending period.

Highlights
  • Library selection
  • Category browsing
  • E-magazine browsing
  • Text search with auto-completion
  • Lending and download options
  • Reservations
  • Integrated eBook reader
  • Offline reading and playback
Features
Read full description

FEATURELIST - Library selection screen - Category oriented browsing in your library - Easy browsing of all eMagazines in your library - Text search with auto-completion - Clear structured result lists - Wide array of filter options for all search results and lists - Detailed overview for all titles with additional preview option - Lending and download options for available eBooks and eMagazines - Lending and streaming options for available eAudio and eMusic titles - Download option for eAudio and eMusic titles - Reservations for non-available titles - Overview for all lent, reserved and downloaded titles - Wishlist feature - Integrated eBook reader - Optimized for all smartphone- and tablet sizes - Offline reading feature - Offline player feature - Expired titles are automatically returned - Downloaded eBooks and eMagazines can be returned early - Supports over 2.900 libraries The Onleihe – the free of charge service of your library now as an app, supports over 2.900 libraries. With this app you’ll always have your library with you. Browse the collection of your library and lent eBooks and eMagazine on the fly or from your home directly with your smartphone or tablet. You can also lent eAudio and eMusic titles, listen to them via streaming or download them directly onto your device. Following the same principle as the web-based Onleihe, the lent titles can be consumed free of charge for a certain set amount of time. Afterwards the titles will automatically be returned to the library. You can search directly throughout the app or browse the collection of your library through different categories and eMagazines. On first sight, you’ll see if a title is available and you can alter your search results with an wide array of different filter or sort options. The detailed view of a certain title will give you all the information you seek, from the name of the book, the author, to the series name, length and much more. If a title is temporary not available you can also reserve it. As soon as the title is then available for you, you will get an e-mail notification to the address you specified. Your reservations are easily accessible with an overview and you can directly lent the titles if they are available. Should you no longer need an ongoing reservation or if you do need to change the address, you are able to edit or delete your reservations. At any given time you can access your overview of your lent titles. At the moment you are able to lent, read or listen to eBooks, eMagazines, eAudios and eMusic titles. ACCESS To access the service of the Onleihe, you need to be an active member of a library who is part of the Onleihe system. Username and login credentials are provided by your library. Should you already use the Onleihe via the web-browser you can use the exact same login credentials to access the app. CONSUME MEDIA You are able to directly load and read all eBooks and eMagazines which you have lent beforehand. You are also free use a different external DRM able eBook reader. eAudio and eMusic titles can be streamed directly via the in app player, or you can chose to download the titles and listen to them later on, even offline. This also needs to be done directly via the in app player.

About

Kosmos

Enhance your reading experience with digital content like videos, audio, and images linked to specific books. Unlock exclusive multimedia materials by entering a code or answering a question from your book. Stream or download content for offline access.

Highlights
  • Access digital book content
  • Unlock videos, audio, and images
  • Use book code or answer questions
  • Stream or download content
  • Offline access
  • Organized media lists
  • Search functionality
Features
Read full description

Die KOSMOS-PLUS-App bietet Ihnen für ausgewählte Bücher den kostenlosen Zugang zu digitalen Inhalten (Videos, Audios, Bilder und Texte). Mit ihr machen Sie aus Ihrem Buch ein Multimedia-Erlebnis! Und so einfach geht´s: • Laden Sie die kostenlose App „KOSMOS PLUS“ auf Ihr Mobilgerät • Öffnen Sie die App und wählen Ihr Buch aus der Übersicht aus oder nutzen Sie die Suchfunktion • Schalten Sie alle Zusatzinhalte frei, indem Sie das Code-Wort aus dem Buch eingeben oder die Frage beantworten, die Ihnen gestellt wird • Danach können Sie in der Medienliste auf die Zusatzinhalte zugreifen • Laden Sie sich die Inhalte einzeln oder alle gleichzeitig herunter • Videos können Sie streamen oder zur Offline-Nutzung herunterladen • Darstellung im Hoch- und Querformat • Unter „Meine Titel“ finden Sie auf einen Blick Ihre Bücher, die Sie schon freigeschaltet haben • Alle Zusatzinhalte eines Buchs auf einen Blick in einer übersichtlichen Medienliste • Suchfunktion bei der Buchübersicht und in den Medienlisten ***** Fragen, Verbesserungsvorschläge und Feature-Wünsche? Wir freuen uns auf Anregungen! Mail an: apps@kosmos.de *****

Screenshots

Onleihe4 screens
Kosmos4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Kosmos at 5.0 against Onleihe's 1.6. Onleihe's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months) and ratings volume (72 vs 6). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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

Kosmos holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Onleihe has 72 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 13% of Onleihe's written reviews are positive against 16% of Kosmos's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Onleihe ships an update every 2 months, Kosmos every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Onleihe versus Kosmos: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOnleiheKosmos
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.6 (72 ratings)5.0 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews13.0% of reviews16.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings72 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 6 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.1 — better12.2
Further details — not scored
Size78 MB3 MB
Age rating17+4+
Developerekz.bibliotheksservice GmbHFranckh-Kosmos Verlags GmbH & Co. KG

Customer experience

Onleihe

All ratings72 ratings
Positive9.7%
Neutral5.6%
Negative84.7%
Written reviews100 reviews
Positive13.0%
Neutral13.0%
Negative74.0%

Kosmos

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews50 reviews
Positive16.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative74.0%

In-app purchases

None

Onleihe

No in-app purchases

None

Kosmos

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Onleihe free?
Onleihe is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Kosmos free?
Kosmos is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Onleihe or Kosmos?
Kosmos is rated higher. Onleihe averages 1.6 out of 5 from 72 ratings, while Kosmos averages 5.0 from 6 ratings.
Do Onleihe or Kosmos have ads?
Neither Onleihe nor Kosmos shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Onleihe or Kosmos?
Onleihe ships an update every 2 months, and Kosmos every 6 months. Most recently, Onleihe was updated on September 27, 2026 and Kosmos on September 29, 2026.

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