Comparison

LocalAudioBooksPlayer vs LightReadr

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

Head to head
About

LocalAudioBooksPlayer

This app is a private audiobook player for your existing audio files. It offers features like resume playback, variable speed, chapter navigation, and lock-screen controls. Your folder structure serves as your library, with options for on-device or iCloud Drive storage.

Highlights
  • Private audiobook player
  • Uses your own MP3 files
  • Variable playback speed
  • Chapter navigation
  • Lock-screen controls
  • Offline playback
  • iCloud Drive support
Features
Read full description

Literavox is a private audiobook player for the files you already own. It's not a store and not a streaming service — you bring the MP3 files, and Literavox plays them the way audiobooks deserve: resume, variable speed, chapter navigation, lock-screen controls, and background audio. YOUR FOLDER IS YOUR LIBRARY Point Literavox at a folder of audiobooks (each book is one subfolder of MP3 files) and it indexes everything for you. There's no hidden database — you stay in full control of your files in the Files app or Finder. ON-DEVICE AND iCLOUD DRIVE Keep your library locally or in an iCloud Drive folder and use it across all your devices at once. Share that iCloud folder with family and friends — no extra sync required. PRIVACY FIRST No accounts. No sign-in. No tracking. Playback works fully offline. The network is only used optionally — to fetch cover art or free public-domain titles. BUILT FOR LONG LISTENS • Resume exactly where you left off • Skip forward and back 30s • Variable speed: 0.8×–2.0× • Chapter list with seamless transitions • Whole-book progress bar with the current chapter highlighted • In-track bookmarks • Favourite and Finished flags + filters • Lock screen, headphone, and CarPlay controls • Background and locked-screen playback FREE, LEGAL LIBRARIES Add built-in free sources and download titles straight into your library: • LibriVox — public-domain audiobooks read by volunteers • Project Gutenberg — synthetic narration • Wolne Lektury — Polish classics read by actors (CC BY-SA) Downloaded titles become ordinary audiobooks on your device — fully offline, with proper attribution and license info. WHY LITERAVOX Because your audiobooks are your files. No store lock-in, no DRM, no subscription required to listen. Just a clean, fast player that respects you and your collection. Fully localized in English and Polish.

About

LightReadr

Convert EPUB ebooks into audiobooks with natural-sounding narration. Read normally or switch to listening mid-page. All processing happens locally on your device, ensuring privacy. Import your own books or enjoy preloaded classics.

Highlights
  • Natural voice narration
  • Local device processing
  • EPUB import
  • Customizable reading settings
  • iCloud sync for progress
  • On-device recap feature
Features
Read full description

LightReadr turns your ebooks into audiobooks; with narration you actually want to listen to. Import the books you already have and either read normally or switch to natural-sounding narration mid-page. No robotic text-to-speech voice, no monthly subscription, no account required. NATURAL VOICE NARRATION Choose from several natural-sounding voices. Every word highlights as it's spoken, so you can follow along on the page. Tap any sentence to start narration right there; no need to scrub back to the beginning of the chapter. ENTIRELY ON YOUR DEVICE Narration is generated locally on your iPhone. Your books and the audio LightReadr creates from them never leave your device; there's no server involved in reading to you. BRING YOUR OWN BOOKS Import EPUB files from the Files app. LightReadr comes with five free public-domain classics already in your library, so you've got something to read the moment you install it. MAKE THE PAGE YOURS Adjust font, size, theme, margins, and line height; per book, so one title can look different from the next. Chapter navigation, when the book includes it, gets you around fast. RECAP SO FAR On supported Apple Intelligence devices, LightReadr can generate a short reminder of what's happened in your book so far, based on what you've actually read. YOUR PLACE, EVERYWHERE Reading progress, bookmarks, and highlights sync across your devices through your own iCloud account; never through a LightReadr server. Free. No account. No ads.

Screenshots

LocalAudioBooksPlayer4 screens
LightReadr4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: LightReadr at Free against LocalAudioBooksPlayer's $0.99. LightReadr also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.0) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 17 months). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

LightReadr is free to download; LocalAudioBooksPlayer costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

LightReadr holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 4 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LocalAudioBooksPlayer ships an update every 17 months, LightReadr every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
LocalAudioBooksPlayer versus LightReadr: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLocalAudioBooksPlayerLightReadr
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings14 — better
Update frequencyEvery 17 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB291 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBlazej ZyglarskiCory Borg

Customer experience

LocalAudioBooksPlayer

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

LightReadr

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

In-app purchases

None

LocalAudioBooksPlayer

No in-app purchases

None

LightReadr

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is LocalAudioBooksPlayer free?
LocalAudioBooksPlayer costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is LightReadr free?
LightReadr is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, LocalAudioBooksPlayer or LightReadr?
LightReadr is rated higher. LocalAudioBooksPlayer averages 4.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while LightReadr averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do LocalAudioBooksPlayer or LightReadr have ads?
Neither LocalAudioBooksPlayer nor LightReadr shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LocalAudioBooksPlayer or LightReadr?
LocalAudioBooksPlayer ships an update every 17 months, and LightReadr every 5 days. Most recently, LocalAudioBooksPlayer was updated on October 14, 2026 and LightReadr on October 15, 2026.

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