Tonspur vs Absorb
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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
Read full descriptionHide full description
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: * Support for podcasts and eBooks * Variable playback speed and automatic sleep timer * Download books for offline listening * Easy chapter navigation * Multi-User Support * Easily switch between libraries * CarPlay support * Automatic progress syncing * Statistics * Widgets * Pinned Genres and Playlists * Integrated Equalizer
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
Read full descriptionHide full description
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 in-app purchases: Absorb at none against Tonspur's 1. Absorb also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.7) and ratings volume (111 vs 6). On price, update cadence, ads and 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
Both are free to download. Tonspur sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Absorb asks for nothing beyond the download.
Absorb holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Absorb has 111 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of Tonspur's written reviews are positive against 97% of Absorb's.
Tonspur ships an update every 3 weeks, Absorb monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Tonspur | Absorb |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (6 ratings) | 4.9 (111 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 83.3% of reviews | 97.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 6 | 111 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 26.1 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 32 MB | 72 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tim Olbrich | Nathan Poulson |
Customer experience
Tonspur
Absorb
In-app purchases
Tonspur
- Downloads$8.99
Absorb
No in-app purchases
