Comparison

Awful vs Bardley

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

Head to head
About

Awful

This app provides a streamlined browsing experience for the Something Awful forums on iOS devices. It offers access to all forums, bookmarked threads, private messages, and includes features like image uploads and a smilie keyboard.

Highlights
  • Browse all forums and subforums
  • Access bookmarked threads
  • Built-in SALR functionality
  • Smilie stickers and keyboard
  • Upload images and pictures
  • Manage private messages
  • Favorite forums
Features
Read full description

Browse the Something Awful forums nicely on your iPhone and iPad! • Every forum and subforum! • Quickly check your bookmarked threads! • Built-in SALR! • Smilie stickers and keyboard! • Upload images and pictures! • Private messages! • Favorite forums! • Rap sheets! • Excessive exclamation marks!

About

Bardley

An audiobook player designed for privacy, allowing users to own their books and enjoy them without tracking or subscriptions. It offers powerful tools for organization, metadata enrichment, and a distraction-free listening experience.

Highlights
  • Privacy-first design with zero data collection
  • Instant metadata search from multiple sources
  • Built-in PDF companion viewer
  • Advanced series organization and tracking
  • Enhanced listening experience with variable speed and smart timer
  • Professional library management with various import and sorting options
  • Accessibility features including VoiceOver support
Features
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Bardley keeps your listening habits completely private while giving you the power to organize, enrich, and enjoy your audiobook library — no account required. NO SUBSCRIPTION. Start with up to 5 audiobooks. Upgrade to Bardley Pro once to unlock an unlimited library, iCloud sync, JellyFin, LibriVox access, and every future premium feature — forever. No monthly fees, no tricks. COMPLETE PRIVACY PROTECTION Zero data collection. No tracking. No accounts. Your audiobooks and listening history stay with you where they belong. While other apps harvest your data for profit, Bardley respects your privacy by default — every network feature is opt-in, never forced. INSTANT METADATA SEARCH Search Open Library, PodcastIndex, and Audnexus simultaneously to find the right cover art, author, narrator, series info, and chapter names. One tap to apply everything. Your sideloaded books deserve proper metadata. BUILT-IN PDF COMPANION VIEWER Attach study guides, liner notes, or companion PDFs directly to any audiobook. Full PDF viewer with page navigation, table of contents, and thumbnails — all without leaving the app. It remembers your last page, too. SERIES ORGANIZATION THAT ACTUALLY WORKS Tired of scrolling through random book lists trying to find Book 3? Bardley groups series books together and lets you set custom reading order. Filter by series, track progress across entire collections, and never lose your place in multi-book stories again. ENHANCED LISTENING EXPERIENCE Variable playback speed from 0.5x to 2.0x. Smart sleep timer that pauses at chapter endings — not mid-sentence. Configurable skip controls. Detailed bookmarks with notes. Chapter navigation with progress tracking. Seamless resume every time you reopen the app. PROFESSIONAL LIBRARY MANAGEMENT Import through Files, AirDrop, or sharing. Supports MP3, M4A, M4B, AIFF, and WAV. Automatic chapter detection. Add custom artwork while keeping originals safe. Switch between grid and list views. Filter by progress, group by author or series, sort seven different ways. BUILT FOR ACCESSIBILITY Bardley adapts to your settings. Five levels of adaptive layout sizing, full VoiceOver support with rich playback announcements, and haptic feedback for every control — so the app works the way you do. CLEAN, DISTRACTION-FREE DESIGN Choose from multiple UI styles to match your taste. Powerful search and filtering. Progress indicators on every book. No ads, no clutter, no distractions — just your audiobooks. Your audiobooks. Your privacy. Your way.

Screenshots

Awful1 screens
Bardley4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Awful at none against Bardley's 1. Awful also leads on ratings volume (237 vs 4) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Bardley sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Awful asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Awful against 5.0 for Bardley. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Awful has 237 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Awful ships an update every 2 weeks, Bardley every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Awful versus Bardley: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAwfulBardley
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (237 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews86.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings237 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size102 MB24 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperDale Stonall-MellorJoseph Poirier

Customer experience

Awful

All ratings237 ratings
Positive98.3%
Neutral0.4%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews109 reviews
Positive86.2%
Neutral3.7%
Negative10.1%

Bardley

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Awful

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when opening certain forums
  • Inability to load images and media
  • Freezing and lagging on older devices
  • Sync issues between app and website

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add search functionality
  • Implement dark mode option
  • Improve thread navigation and bookmarking
  • Integrate with other social platforms

Bardley

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Awful

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Bardley

One-time1
  • Lifetime Pro$5.99

Questions

Is Awful free?
Awful is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Bardley free?
Bardley is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Awful or Bardley?
Bardley is rated higher. Awful averages 4.9 out of 5 from 237 ratings, while Bardley averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Awful or Bardley have ads?
Neither Awful nor Bardley shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Awful or Bardley?
Awful ships an update every 2 weeks, and Bardley every 8 days. Most recently, Awful was updated on September 25, 2026 and Bardley on September 18, 2026.

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