National Library and Archives vs Open Library Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
National Library and Archives
Access a comprehensive digital archive and library for the UAE, featuring historical media, public contributions, news archives, and an e-book store. Explore audio recordings and various other electronic services.
- Historical multimedia archive
- User-submitted historical content
- Daily news archives
- E-book store
- Audio library of Sheikh Zayed
- Electronic services
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تطبيق شامل للأرشيف والمكتبة الوطنية لدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة تم فيه دمج جميع التطبيقات السابقة في واجهة واحدة جديدة كلياً يشمل التطبيق: كنوز الأرشيف: وهي مكتبة للوسائط المتعددة التاريخية وتشمل صور ووثائق وخرائط... ، علومكم: وتحتوي على مشاركات جمهور الأرشيف والمكتبة والوطنية من مواد تاريخية وتراثية يوميات: والتي تحتوي على أخبار يومية نشرت في الصحف لأصحاب السمو الشيوخ متجر الكتب الإلكترونية ويشمل إلإصدارات الإلكترونية باللغتين العربية والإنجليزية حيث يمكن للمستخدم شراءها وقراءتها من خلال التطبيق المكتبة الصوتية للشيخ زايد والتي تشمل مقاطع مسجلة من أقوال المغفور له الشيخ زايد بن سلطان آل نهيان والعديد من الخدمات الإلكترونية الأخرى
Open Library Reader
Access and read millions of books from an online library. Organize your reading lists, track borrowed books, and discover related titles within a familiar reading interface. Requires an internet connection.
- Browse and check out millions of books
- Track reading progress and wishlists
- Built-in search and related title discovery
- Shelf management and edition changes
- Checkout tracking for borrowed books
- Customizable reading interface
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Open Library is an online library with millions of books to browse or check out. You can track the books that you're reading, want to read, etc. and read many of them right there. PLEASE NOTE: This app is an interface to the openlibrary.org web site — if you don't use that site to read books, you may have trouble figuring out what the app is for. I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the site first, and then you'll understand what the app offers. This app is one reader's effort to create the ideal portable experience for taking advantage of Open Library's amazing collection. You'll get the best experience out of this app on an iPad, but you can use it on a smaller screen (if you don't mind squinting). The moment you open the app and log in, any books you've already saved on the Open Library site are laid out on your screen. You can sort them by title, author, publication date, and date saved, see which books are available to read, and open them with a single tap. Once you've opened a book in the familiar reading interface, a tap at the top of the screen will trigger the full screen mode, removing every distraction and expanding the book pages to the limits of your screen for the perfect reading experience. Other features include: - Built-in search: find and add books to your shelves from inside the app. - Shelf management: move books between shelves, remove books, change the edition of a book. - Related title search: choose a book on your shelf and quickly find more books like it. - Checkout tracking: see at a glance how long you have left on limited-access books you've checked out. - Customization: choose which shelves you want to see and manage the size of the books and their titles. This app is essentially an alternative interface to the Open Library site — all of your data is stored there, and the books you read are hosted online, not in the app. As a result, an active internet connection is required when you are using this app. Open Library is an initiative of the Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. The developer of this app has no legal or contractual relationship with Open Library or the Internet Archive, and bears no responsibility for the content found there.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: National Library and Archives at 5.0 against Open Library Reader's 3.1. National Library and Archives also leads on review sentiment (60% vs 26%). Open Library Reader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 17) and ratings volume (51 vs 3). On price, update cadence, ads 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. National Library and Archives sells 17 one-off in-app purchases. Open Library Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.
National Library and Archives holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Open Library Reader has 51 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of National Library and Archives's written reviews are positive against 26% of Open Library Reader's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | National Library and Archives | Open Library Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better | 3.1 (51 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 60.0% of reviews — better | 26.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 51 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 48 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | National Library and Archives | Loomis House, LLC |
Customer experience
National Library and Archives
Open Library Reader
In-app purchases
National Library and Archives
- YawmeyatMohammedBinRashedFree
- Liwa Arabic 29Free
- Zayed From Challenges to UnionFree
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- YawmeyatZayedBinSultanFree
- YawmeyatMohamedBinZayedFree
- YawmeyatFatemaFree
- قصر الحصنFree
- Rasael Al Rasoul$3.99
- Emiratis All Our Yesterdays - Arabic$4.99
- Zayed Ibn Al Sahraa$4.99
- New Perpectives On Recording UAE History A$4.99
- Old Mosques of the Coasts of Abu Dhabi - Arabic$5.99
- Memoirs of the Emirates - Arabic$9.99
- India and UAE$9.99
- UAE and Iran - The three islands$9.99
- Black Gold and Frankincense - Arabic$9.99
- ZAYED Man Who Built A Nation Arabic$9.99
Open Library Reader
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is National Library and Archives free?
Is Open Library Reader free?
Which has better reviews, National Library and Archives or Open Library Reader?
Do National Library and Archives or Open Library Reader have ads?
Which is updated more often, National Library and Archives or Open Library Reader?
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