Local Audio Books vs StoryCodex
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Local Audio Books
This app plays your owned audiobooks, free classics in multiple languages, and podcasts. It organizes everything on one screen, allowing you to manage your library from device folders or cloud storage. Enjoy features like adjustable playback speed, sleep timers, and offline listening.
- Plays owned audiobooks and podcasts
- Access to free classics from LibriVox and Project Gutenberg
- Organized library view by source
- Supports local folders and iCloud Drive
- Adjustable playback speed and sleep timer
- Offline listening and background downloads
- Private by design, no ads or tracking
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Local Audio Books plays the audiobooks you own, free classics in eight languages, and podcasts that just play. EVERYTHING ON ONE SCREEN Listen holds everything on your device, from every source: the book or episode you played last, with its progress and a play button, then the rest grouped — in progress, favourites, podcast episodes, not started, finished. Every source — your folders, each free catalogue, Podcasts — has its own tab, and Search looks through all of them at once. FREE AUDIOBOOKS IN YOUR LANGUAGE • LibriVox — public-domain books read by volunteers, with catalogues in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese and Polish • Wolne Lektury — Polish classics read by actors (CC BY-SA) • Project Gutenberg — synthetic narration Tap Listen now and the book plays at once while it downloads in the background. Afterwards it is yours offline, with author, narrator, source and license recorded. PODCASTS AND RADIO DRAMA Follow shows from recommendations, your country's top charts or a search of the podcast directory — or paste any feed address. Episodes stream straight away, newest first, and each keeps its own position. Download only the ones you want offline. YOUR FOLDER IS YOUR LIBRARY Point the app at a folder of audiobooks (one subfolder of MP3 or AAC files per book) on your device or in iCloud Drive. No hidden database: manage everything in Files or Finder. BUILT FOR LONG LISTENS • Resume exactly where you stopped • Sleep timer — in minutes, or at the end of a chapter • Speed from 0.8× to 2.5×, remembered for each book • Skip intervals you choose, chapters and bookmarks • Lock screen, headphone and CarPlay controls MADE FOR EVERY SCREEN A Liquid Glass design for iOS 26 with the system tab bar: each source is an icon with a count, and the bar tucks away as you scroll. On the iPhone Duo it becomes a rail on the right edge, right by your thumb. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account, no ads, no tracking. The network is used only for catalogues, podcasts, downloads and cover art. Available in English, Polish, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Portuguese.
StoryCodex
This app helps you track your reading progress in novels without spoilers. It builds a live encyclopedia and visual map of characters, places, and events as you read, ensuring you never forget plot details.
- Spoiler-free AI story tracking
- Live character encyclopedia
- Interactive visual Story Map
- Audio playback with neural voices
- Offline reading support
- Import EPUB, PDF, and web chapters
- On-device AI processing
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You're on chapter 600. A name appears you half-remember. The wiki would spoil everything. StoryCodex is a smart novel reader that builds a live encyclopedia and visual Story Map of your story as you read. It tracks your progress and only remembers the events you have already reached. Stop choosing between losing track of the plot and getting spoiled by fandom wikis. LISTEN OR READ ANYWHERE Experience a polished core reading environment. Listen to your chapters aloud with high-fidelity neural voices including Supertonic, Kokoro, and Piper. Background playback, lock screen controls, and customizable reading views. No internet connection required. TAP ANY NAME, SEE WHO THEY ARE Tap a character name while reading to instantly view their profile: role, traits, power tier, and key relationships. Pulled strictly from chapters you have already read. Zero spoilers. No wiki rabbit holes. EXPLORE THE STORY MAP See characters, factions, places, and relationships as an interactive visual map. Follow alliances, rivalries, mentors, clans, sects, and shifting connections without exposing future events. The Story Map grows with your reading progress, so it stays useful and spoiler-free. YOUR STORY CODEX As you read, the local AI silently builds and updates your universe. Character profiles track names, aliases, motivations, and power progression. World building maps places, factions, cultivation systems, and items. Arc summaries break the full story into arcs, always spoiler-free. Chapter summaries log every chapter so nothing slips through. The codex carries across volumes, so your encyclopedia grows with the series. PICK UP EXACTLY WHERE YOU LEFT OFF Tap Previously before any chapter for an instant recap: the last few key events and a summary of recent chapters. Like a previously on for your novel. No reread, no spoilers, just back in the story in seconds. LOAD EPUBS OR WEB CHAPTERS Import web novels and light novels via EPUB, PDF, or plain text. Reading a multi-volume series? Save each EPUB as a volume under one series and share the same codex across all books. Paste a chapter URL from any public novel site to start reading and listening instantly. The built-in reader strips ads and clutter for a distraction-free experience. CONVERT WEB NOVELS TO EPUB Turn a saved web novel into a real EPUB for offline reading. Split long novels into volumes, each with its own table of contents, or keep one flat book. Missing chapters are downloaded first, then the finished EPUB lands in your library and is included in library exports and backups, so other reader apps can open it too. 100% ON-DEVICE. COMPLETELY PRIVATE. Your library and chapters never leave your phone. Local AI handles all analysis. No account, no external servers, no subscription required for core features. STORYCODEX PRO, OPTIONAL AND ONE-TIME For readers who go deep. Unlock advanced world-building analysis and the full interactive visual Story Map. One-time purchase, no recurring fees. Built for web novels, light novels, xianxia, LitRPG, and massive fantasy epics. Requires 6GB RAM or more for local AI models. Pro users on cloud AI have no device requirements. PERFECT FOR: • LitRPG, progression fantasy, cultivation/xianxia, isekai • Epic fantasy with huge casts (noble houses, guilds, sects) • Multi-volume series you read over months or years • Readers who take breaks and need quick recaps
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: StoryCodex at Free against Local Audio Books's $0.99. StoryCodex also leads on rating (4.5 vs 4.0) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 5 months). Local Audio Books's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and ads (none vs shown). On 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
StoryCodex is free to download; Local Audio Books costs $0.99 up front. StoryCodex sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Local Audio Books asks for nothing beyond the download.
StoryCodex holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: StoryCodex has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Local Audio Books ships an update every 5 months, StoryCodex every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Local Audio Books | StoryCodex |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.0 (1 ratings) | 4.5 (8 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 8 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 180 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Blazej Zyglarski | Bilal ARKAN |
Customer experience
Local Audio Books
StoryCodex
In-app purchases
Local Audio Books
No in-app purchases
StoryCodex
- Remove Ads$1.99
- Small Pack$1.99
- Medium Pack$4.99
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- Pro Upgrade$7.99
- Large Pack$9.99
- StoryCodex Pro$9.99









