Comparison

Tonspur vs Fable Frog

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Variable playback speed
  • Sleep timer
  • Offline listening
  • Chapter navigation
  • Progress syncing
  • CarPlay support
  • Multi-library support
Features
Read 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: * 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

About

Fable Frog

This app offers a premium listening experience for your self-hosted audiobooks. Enjoy advanced playback controls, library management, offline downloads, and detailed listening statistics. It's designed with accessibility and privacy in mind, connecting seamlessly to your Audiobookshelf server.

Highlights
  • Variable speed and volume boost
  • Sleep timer with shake to extend
  • Chapter navigation with durations
  • Bookmarks with notes
  • Per-book playback settings
  • Offline downloads with smart management
  • Listening statistics and charts
  • CarPlay and widget support
Features
Read full description

The best way to enjoy your audiobooks. Fable Frog is a native iOS client for Audiobookshelf — built from the ground up for a premium listening experience. Connect to your self-hosted server and enjoy your library with a beautiful, feature-packed player designed for how you actually listen. PLAYBACK THAT JUST WORKS • Variable speed (0.5x – 3x) and volume boost up to 200% • Sleep timer with presets, custom duration, or end of chapter • Shake to extend your timer without opening your phone • Chapter navigation with durations at a glance • Bookmarks with notes up to 5,000 characters • Per-book playback settings that remember how you like each title • AirPlay streaming to your favorite speakers YOUR LIBRARY, YOUR WAY • Browse by books, authors, series, narrators, or genres • Filter by progress and genre, sort by title, author, date added, duration, or last listened • Instant search across your entire library • Follow series and track upcoming releases automatically • Create custom playlists, rate and review books • Alphabetical index for jumping through large collections OFFLINE DOWNLOADS Download books and listen anywhere — no connection needed. Smart Downloads automatically grab your next listen and clean up finished titles. Wi-Fi only mode keeps your data plan safe. LISTENING STATISTICS Understand your listening life with daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly charts. See genre breakdowns, top series rankings, speed savings, finished book trophies, and fun facts about your habits. CARPLAY A dedicated driving interface built for safe, distraction-free listening in the car. Large touch targets, simplified controls, and quick access to recent and library books. WIDGETS Lock screen widget with a circular progress gauge for your current listen. iOS 18 Control Center widgets for quick play/pause without leaving what you're doing. MAKE IT YOURS • 20 themes including 3 accessibility-optimized options • Custom app icons (Neon, Sunset, Forest) • 6 text size levels from XS to XXL • Customizable lock screen widget icons • Configurable skip durations and player controls BUILT FOR EVERYONE • Full VoiceOver support with comprehensive labels and adjustable controls • Voice Control compatible — navigate by voice • Dynamic Type support — text scales to 200%+ with in-app size slider • Accessibility themes: High Contrast (AAA), Blue-Orange (CVD), Pink-Teal (CVD) • Differentiate Without Color support — shapes and icons supplement color • All themes validated for WCAG AA contrast standards • Respects Reduce Motion and Reduce Transparency system settings • Car mode with extra-large touch targets • Siri integration for hands-free playback control PRIVACY FIRST No analytics. No telemetry. No tracking. No ads. Your data stays between your device and your server — nothing else. Credentials are stored exclusively in the iOS Keychain. CONNECTS TO YOUR SETUP • Username/password and OIDC authentication (Keycloak, Authelia, Authentik, and more) • Custom HTTP headers for reverse proxies (Caddy, Nginx, Traefik) • Multi-library support on the same server • Automatic token refresh and session management Available in 15+ languages with full RTL support. Requires a self-hosted Audiobookshelf server (v2.x). Fable Frog is an independent third-party client and is not affiliated with the Audiobookshelf project. Terms of Service: https://fablefrog.app/terms Apple EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stddla/ Privacy Policy: https://fablefrog.app/privacy

Screenshots

Tonspur4 screens
Fable Frog4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Tonspur at 83% against Fable Frog's 50%. Tonspur also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.3). Fable Frog's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.1). On price, ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Tonspur sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Fable Frog sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $8.00 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Tonspur holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of Tonspur's written reviews are positive against 50% of Fable Frog's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tonspur ships an update every 3 weeks, Fable Frog every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on August 27, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Tonspur versus Fable Frog: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTonspurFable Frog
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (6 ratings) — better4.3 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings6 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.117.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTim OlbrichPaul DeVito

Customer experience

Tonspur

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%

Fable Frog

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Tonspur

One-time1
  • Downloads$8.99
2 purchases

Fable Frog

Subscriptions1
  • Premium Annual$8.001 Year
One-time1
  • Premium Lifetime$12.00

Questions

Is Tonspur free?
Tonspur is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Fable Frog free?
Fable Frog is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Tonspur or Fable Frog?
Tonspur is rated higher. Tonspur averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Fable Frog averages 4.3 from 3 ratings.
Do Tonspur or Fable Frog have ads?
Neither Tonspur nor Fable Frog shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tonspur or Fable Frog?
Tonspur ships an update every 3 weeks, and Fable Frog every 9 days. Most recently, Tonspur was updated on August 27, 2026 and Fable Frog on September 10, 2026.

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