Comparison

Gutenberg Project vs OpenLibrary Browser

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

Head to head
About

Gutenberg Project

Access over 60,000 classic books and 7,000 human-read audiobooks from Project Gutenberg. Enjoy a beautiful reading experience with synchronized audio and text, intelligent table of contents, and personalized recommendations based on user data. Export books with notes and bookmarks.

Highlights
  • Access 60,000+ classic books
  • 7,000+ human-read audiobooks
  • Synchronized read-along audio/text
  • Intelligent Table of Contents
  • Big data-driven recommendations
  • Export books with notes/bookmarks
Features
Read full description

【Premier Reader】: This app costs $6, and our users are paying for it each and every day. Why? It is the best Gutenberg Reader: beautiful images, elegant formatting, and graceful page turning. Contents live from Project Gutenberg with last-minute update, more than 60,000 most important books ever published in history. Plus more than 7,000 human-read audio books. 【Audio books】: There are more than 7,000 human-read audio books, all for the price of a cup of coffee. Alternatively you could pay $3-5 for a single audiobook as some of the "Audio app" would ask you to pay. 【Book recommendation】: Every app gives you a list of book recommendation, but where did they find the list? dreamed up in 'lala' land? We base our recommendation solidly on big data, tens of millions of pages actually read by our users. Downloading or page flipping has no effect on the ranking of our recommendation list. 【Number of Books】: No other apps have more Gutenberg books, and many competitors are missing some classic Gutenberg books, and many competitors use outdated data from Gutenberg. 【Reading】: Texts and images are presented by a sophisticated book reader: beautiful presentation, graceful page turning, and the most intelligent Table of Contents (better than any other book reader for the same book). 【Read-along】: Audio and Text are synchronized when possible. You can read, listen, or read-Along, and switch between them at will. 【Export】: Export a book together with bookmarks and the notes you inserted into the book to anyone and any device, or save it i the cloud (google drive, one drive, or iCloud). * The PAID version "Gutenberg Books" allows unlimited reading and listening.

About

OpenLibrary Browser

Access a vast catalog of books directly from your mobile device. Search for titles, browse collections, and download public domain works for free.

Highlights
  • Search book catalog
  • Browse book collections
  • Download public domain works
  • Mobile client for OpenLibrary
Features
Read full description

A mobile client for the OpenLibrary website. Users can search and browse for books, and download available public domain works.

Screenshots

Gutenberg Project4 screens
OpenLibrary Browser4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Gutenberg Project at 3.3 against OpenLibrary Browser's 1.4. Gutenberg Project also leads on review sentiment (41% vs 0%). OpenLibrary Browser's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, ratings volume, 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. Gutenberg Project sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. OpenLibrary Browser asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Gutenberg Project holds the better App Store score, 3.3 against 1.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 43 and 39 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 41% of Gutenberg Project's written reviews are positive against 0% of OpenLibrary Browser's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Gutenberg Project ships an update every 2 months, OpenLibrary Browser every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Gutenberg Project versus OpenLibrary Browser: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGutenberg ProjectOpenLibrary Browser
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (43 ratings) — better1.4 (39 ratings)
Positive reviews40.7% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings43 — better39
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB13 MB
Age rating17+4+
Developerhimalaya-softRobert Wakefield

Customer experience

Gutenberg Project

All ratings43 ratings
Positive53.5%
Neutral9.3%
Negative37.2%
Written reviews59 reviews
Positive40.7%
Neutral6.8%
Negative52.5%

OpenLibrary Browser

All ratings39 ratings
Positive7.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative92.3%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Gutenberg Project

One-time2
  • Unlimited Reading$2.99
  • Unlimited Listening$2.99
None

OpenLibrary Browser

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Gutenberg Project free?
Gutenberg Project is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is OpenLibrary Browser free?
OpenLibrary Browser is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Gutenberg Project or OpenLibrary Browser?
Gutenberg Project is rated higher. Gutenberg Project averages 3.3 out of 5 from 43 ratings, while OpenLibrary Browser averages 1.4 from 39 ratings.
Do Gutenberg Project or OpenLibrary Browser have ads?
Neither Gutenberg Project nor OpenLibrary Browser shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Gutenberg Project or OpenLibrary Browser?
Gutenberg Project ships an update every 2 months, and OpenLibrary Browser every 3 months. Most recently, Gutenberg Project was updated on September 23, 2026 and OpenLibrary Browser on September 9, 2026.

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