Storyteller Reader vs Absorb
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Storyteller Reader
Create and read ebooks with guided narration on your device. This self-hosted platform allows you to enjoy EPUB books, including those with immersive reading features. Pair it with a backend server for automatic alignment of audiobooks and ebooks.
- Create and read ebooks
- Guided narration
- EPUB support
- Media Overlays
- Immersive reading
- Self-hosted backend integration
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Storyteller is a self-hosted platform for creating and reading ebooks with guided narration. You can use the app to read any EPUB books, including those with Media Overlays (also called “immersive reading” or “guided narration”) on your device, or you can pair it with the Storyteller self-hosted backend server, which can automatically align audiobooks and ebooks for immersive reading!
Absorb
This app provides a streamlined mobile experience for listening to audiobooks and podcasts from your self-hosted media server. Enjoy features like offline playback, chapter navigation, and listening statistics. It's a free, open-source solution with no ads or data collection.
- Offline listening
- Chapter navigation
- Sleep timer
- Playback speed control
- Home screen widgets
- Listening statistics
- CarPlay support
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Absorb is a free, open source audiobook and podcast player built for Audiobookshelf, a self-hosted media server for your personal book library. Connect to your own Audiobookshelf server and enjoy your audiobook collection with a clean, polished mobile experience built specifically for iOS. Features: Stream or download books for offline listening Full playback controls with chapter navigation, sleep timer, and playback speed Home screen widgets for quick playback controls Listening stats and streaks to track your progress Bookmarks with notes Series tracking and discovery Light and dark mode CarPlay support And much more!!! Absorb is built by a solo developer and is completely free with no ads, no subscriptions, and no data collection. Your library stays between you and your server. Requires a self-hosted Audiobookshelf server. Visit audiobookshelf.org to learn more.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Storyteller Reader at every 2 weeks against Absorb's every 5 weeks. Absorb's advantage is ratings volume (174 vs 46). On price, rating, review sentiment 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Storyteller Reader against 4.9 for Absorb. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 46 and 174 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 95% of Storyteller Reader's written reviews are positive against 97% of Absorb's.
Storyteller Reader ships an update every 2 weeks, Absorb every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Storyteller Reader | Absorb |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (46 ratings) — better | 4.9 (174 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 95.0% of reviews | 97.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 46 | 174 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 79 MB | 65 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Shane Friedman | Nathan Poulson |
Customer experience
Storyteller Reader
Absorb
In-app purchases
Storyteller Reader
No in-app purchases
Absorb
No in-app purchases
