CloudLibrary vs The Palace Project
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CloudLibrary
Manage your library account and discover new content. Borrow physical items, access eBooks and audiobooks, and receive helpful reminders. Personalize your reading experience and stay organized with this intuitive library companion.
- Borrow physical and digital items
- Access eBooks and Audiobooks
- Manage multiple library accounts
- Receive due-date reminders
- Discover library events
- Personalize reading experience
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A must-have app for library users! Easily borrow physical items using your mobile device, receive reminders, manage receipts and discover new digital content all within the CloudLibrary app! Extremely intuitive, all it takes is a library card to login and get started! Designed for an enjoyable experience, users can benefit from many new features, depending on their library’s subscription. - Easily accessible library card, which conveniently displays when you’re near the library - Switch accounts with ease and manage multiple library cards from one mobile device - Download and enjoy free eBooks and Audiobooks - Keep track of your physical and digital library activity in one place - Receive helpful receipts, due-date reminders and packable checklists - Visible push notifications alert when hold items are available - View upcoming library events and programs - Checkout print items at your library using your mobile device - Fun and loveable customizations include Themes, Avatars and Nicknames For libraries that have a subscription to offer eBooks and Audiobooks: - Customize your homepage bookshelves to display your preferred genres - Simple interface makes browsing and saving titles a breeze - Filter content by format, availability and language to display exactly what you are looking for - Mark titles as favorites or read to help with literary conversations with friends - Sync digital content across multiple devices to easily pick up where you left off - View current books, full reading history, items on hold and saved titles in one place - Sort titles by name or author to easily find what you’re looking for - Receive reading recommendations or view additional titles by author or series - Select font size, margins and background colors to create your preferred reading experience - Search eBooks for a particular phrase to get back to that one spot you wanted to reference - Bookmark pages and add notes if needed - Return titles early when you’re finished and make available for other readers Elevate your library experience today with the CloudLibrary app!
The Palace Project
Access and enjoy e-books and audiobooks from your local library for free. Discover new titles, borrow them instantly with your library card, and read or listen anywhere. Even without a participating library, enjoy a collection of free books.
- Borrow e-books and audiobooks
- Access local library collections
- Read or listen to books
- Free Palace Bookshelf collection
- Requires library card for full access
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Palace is a free, easy-to-use e-reader app that lets you find, check out, and read or listen to books from your local library. It’s been said that libraries are “palaces for the people” and the Palace app gives you instant access to your local “palace” any time, right from the palm of your hand. All you need to sign up is your library card! And even if your library isn’t using Palace yet, you can still read more than 10,000 books--from children’s books to classics to foreign language books--for free from our Palace Bookshelf. The Palace app is built and maintained by Lyrasis, a not-for-profit organization working in partnership with Digital Public Library of America with funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. For more, visit https://thepalaceproject.org.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: CloudLibrary at 56% against The Palace Project's 27%. CloudLibrary also leads on ratings volume (253K vs 5.2K) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). The Palace Project's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 weeks). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
CloudLibrary holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CloudLibrary has 253K ratings behind it against 5.2K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of CloudLibrary's written reviews are positive against 27% of The Palace Project's.
CloudLibrary ships an update every 6 weeks, The Palace Project fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CloudLibrary | The Palace Project |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (253K ratings) — better | 4.6 (5.2K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 56.5% of reviews — better | 26.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 253K — better | 5.2K |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #34 — better | #92 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 161 MB | 46 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | OCLC | The Palace Project |
Customer experience
CloudLibrary
The Palace Project
User reviews
CloudLibrary
From 253K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 🚀 Convenient access to library books
- 🚀 Wide selection of books
- 👍 Great resource during the pandemic
- 👍 Ability to read/listen on multiple devices
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🐛 Unreliable page/progress tracking
- 🐛 Inconsistent user experience
- 🐛 Slow performance and loading times
- 🐛 Confusing navigation and interface
The Palace Project
From 5.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great selection of books
- 💡 Convenient access to library books
- 👍 Simple and easy to use
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent glitches and bugs
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🔍 Poor search functionality
- 🤯 Inconsistent user experience
Bugs and requests
CloudLibrary
Reported bugs
5 issues- Inability to open/download books
- Losing place in books when reopening app
- Random page skipping and jumps
- Corrupted library data and lost reading history
- Frequent login issues and errors
Requested features
5 requests- Dark mode option
- Improved search and browsing functionality
- Better integration with other reading apps (e.g. Kindle)
- Progress tracking and bookmarking improvements
- Option to extend loan periods
The Palace Project
Reported bugs
4 issues- Books not downloading properly
- Losing place in audiobooks
- Crashing and freezing issues
- Incompatibility with certain devices
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to track read/listened books
- Improved audiobook playback controls
- Dark mode option
- Integration with Kindle
In-app purchases
CloudLibrary
No in-app purchases
The Palace Project
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is CloudLibrary free?
Is The Palace Project free?
Which has better reviews, CloudLibrary or The Palace Project?
Do CloudLibrary or The Palace Project have ads?
Which is updated more often, CloudLibrary or The Palace Project?
Which is more popular, CloudLibrary or The Palace Project?
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