SoundLeaf vs Tonspur
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SoundLeaf
This app provides a premium iOS client for the open-source Audiobookshelf server. It offers a beautiful, intuitive interface for listening to your personal audiobook collection with features like CarPlay support and offline downloads.
- CarPlay support
- Connect to Audiobookshelf server
- Intuitive library browsing
- Variable playback speed
- Offline listening
- Smart sleep timer
- Cross-device progress tracking
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SoundLeaf is a premium iOS client for Audiobookshelf, the open-source, self-hosted audiobook and podcast server. Connect to your own server and get your whole collection — audiobooks, podcasts and ebooks — in a beautiful, fast app built for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and CarPlay. Learn more, read setup guides and see the app in action at https://soundleafapp.com OFFLINE FIRST • Your library syncs to the app, so you can browse everything even with the server off • Download books and episodes and play them anywhere, no connection needed • Downloads are free for everyone, podcast auto-download included • Local and remote server addresses: the app uses your local address on home Wi-Fi and your remote address everywhere else, on its own BUILT FOR LONG LISTENS • A powerful player with chapters, variable playback speed and position memory • A smarter sleep timer: tell it your night hours and it starts itself, fades out instead of stopping cold, and restarts when you press play • Progress syncs with your server, so every device stays on the same page • Background playback, lock screen controls and full landscape support PODCASTS, DONE RIGHT • Podcast transcripts: when a show publishes one, it runs along with the audio, and a tap opens a full reader • Smart Downloads keep the next episodes ready before you ask • A queue that shows what is playing, what is next and what is on the phone • Episode management per show: keep counts, auto-download, mark played THE EBOOK READER • Read the ebook that lives next to your audiobook • One tap jumps the page to where the narrator is, and back • Fonts, text size, line spacing, margins, and Light, Sepia and Dark pages EVERYWHERE YOU LISTEN • A real Apple Watch app, with offline playback on your wrist if you want it • CarPlay with library switching and a downloaded-only filter • Home screen widgets: now playing, recent books, your listening time MAKE IT YOURS • 32 themes and 55 app icons • Listening stats with streaks, totals, a year heatmap and daily patterns • Multiple libraries, series, authors, collections and search SoundLeaf is made for self-hosters and their families: people who keep their audiobook library on their own server with Audiobookshelf and want the best way to listen to it on Apple devices. Note: SoundLeaf requires an Audiobookshelf server to connect to. Audiobookshelf is free and open source; learn how to set one up at https://audiobookshelf.org and find help at https://soundleafapp.com/server/ Website: https://soundleafapp.com Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Tonspur
Listen to your personal audiobook collection with this companion app. Enjoy features like adjustable playback speed, a sleep timer, and easy chapter navigation. Download books for offline listening and sync your progress across devices.
- Variable playback speed
- Sleep timer
- Offline listening
- Chapter navigation
- Progress syncing
- CarPlay support
- Multi-library support
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Listen to your personal audiobook collection with Tonspur, the companion app for Audiobookshelf. Tonspur makes it easy to enjoy the audiobooks you own. Adjust playback speed to match your preference, set a sleep timer for bedtime listening, and jump between chapters with a simple tap. Download books to listen offline, and sync your progress across all your devices including iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and CarPlay. Connect to multiple libraries and switch between them effortlessly. Whether you're at home, in the car with CarPlay, or on the go, your audiobooks are always ready when you are. FEATURES: * Variable playback speed and sleep timer * Download books for offline listening * Read eBooks * Easy chapter navigation * Multi-User Support * Easily switch between libraries * CarPlay support * Automatic progress syncing * Statistics * Widgets * Pinned Genres and Playlists
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Tonspur at 4.7 against SoundLeaf's 4.3. Tonspur also leads on review sentiment (83% vs 65%). SoundLeaf's advantage is ratings volume (20 vs 6) and iOS requirement (17.6 vs 26.1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. SoundLeaf sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per year and Tonspur sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Tonspur holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 20 and 6 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of SoundLeaf's written reviews are positive against 83% of Tonspur's.
SoundLeaf ships an update fortnightly, Tonspur every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and August 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SoundLeaf | Tonspur |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (20 ratings) | 4.7 (6 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 65.0% of reviews | 83.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 20 — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 — better | 26.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 32 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hemant Kumar | Tim Olbrich |
Customer experience
SoundLeaf
Tonspur
In-app purchases
SoundLeaf
- SoundLeaf Supporter$19.991 Year
- Pro$9.99
Tonspur
- Downloads$8.99









