Freading vs Buks
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Freading
This app allows users to read EPUB and PDF books downloaded from participating libraries. It supports Adobe DRM and offers a comfortable reading experience with features like page turning and adjustable text size.
- Read EPUB and PDF books
- Adobe DRM support
- Tap or swipe page turning
- Remembers last page read
- Selectable text size
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The Freading application is for reading EPUB books and PDF books. The application was developed for users of the Freading Ebook Service. The Freading (free reading) Ebook Service was developed by Library Ideas, LLC and is sold to libraries of all types around the world. End users are registered cardholders of participating libraries. Check with your local library for participation. The end user should use their browser to navigate the library website, then download the book from a library website into this application. Once in the application, the EPUB or PDF book can be explored and read. The Freading application is designed to lend full support for Adobe DRM and uses Adobe ID for Authentication. The Freading application includes many features that you would expect for a good reading experience such as tap or swipe to turn pages, remembering the last page read, and selectable text size.
Buks
Access over 60,000 free ebooks across many languages. Discover new titles with intuitive search and AI-generated cover art. Send books directly to your Kindle or other readers, or read them within the app.
- 60,000+ free ebooks
- AI-generated cover art
- Send to Kindle
- EPUB and MOBI download
- In-app ebook reader
- Dark mode
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Get instant access to more than 60 000 free ebooks. Send ebooks directly to your Kindle or other ebook readers. Save books to your library and share them with your friends. Discover new books by using our intuitive search or by finding new gems among your favourites. By using the latest breakthroughs in generative AI, we were able to breathe new life into more than 30 000 ebooks lacking cover art. APP HIGHLIGHTS * Discover new books using our intuitive search function * Filter and sort lists of books to find the one you like * Send ebooks to Kindle with one tap * Download EPUB and MOBI versions of every book * We created 30 000 new covers using the latest generative AI technology * Save books to your library and access them at any time * Share books with your friends * Read books directly in our app with our ebook reader * Use our dark mode if our default white is too bright for you * All ebooks in our app are 100% free for you to use * Disable all ads if you want to be more efficient OVER 60 000 FREE BOOKS Our extensive library contains more than 60 000 free ebooks in 67 languages for you to discover download and share. We have all the classics and countless categories. Some of the authors we feature: * Jane Austen * Mary Shelley * Lewis Carroll * Jonathan Swift * Arthur Conan Doyle * Bernard Shaw * Mark Twain * Charlotte Brontë * Charles Dickens * William Shakespeare * Edgar Allan Poe * Oscar Wilde * Fyodor Dostoevsky * Leo Tolstoy * James Joyce * W.B. Yeats * Franz Kafka * Friedrich Nietzsche * Voltaire * Homer * Plato And many more! We’re constantly trying to improve the experience for our users. Feel free to contact us if you run into any issues with the app, with an ebook or if you’re missing a feature. feedback@buksapp.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Buks at 67% against Freading's 17%. Buks also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 9 months) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 13.0). Freading's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, in-app purchases and device support 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.
Freading holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Freading has 2.9K ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 17% of Freading's written reviews are positive against 67% of Buks's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Freading ships an update every 9 months, Buks every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Freading | Buks |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (2.9K ratings) — better | 4.3 (10 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 16.8% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2.9K — better | 10 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 10.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 259 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Library Ideas, LLC | Dagda KlG |
Customer experience
Freading
Buks
Bugs and requests
Freading
Reported bugs
3 issues- Books fail to download or open
- App crashes when trying to access downloaded books
- Login process is unreliable and inconsistent
Requested features
4 requests- Improve app stability and reliability
- Enhance user interface and navigation
- Expand book selection and search capabilities
- Streamline login and authentication process
Buks
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Freading
No in-app purchases
Buks
No in-app purchases
