Masobe vs Blackauthored
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Masobe
Discover and enjoy African stories through a vast digital library of eBooks. Read instantly, rent titles, or order physical copies to build your personal collection. Experience the rich storytelling heritage of the continent.
- Vast digital library of African eBooks
- Discover fiction, poetry, and non-fiction
- Curated collections by interest
- Instant eBook access
- Book rental options
- Order physical book copies
Read full descriptionHide full description
Embark on a literary journey across Africa with the Masobe App, your ultimate digital companion for discovering and enjoying African stories. We bring the continent's rich storytelling heritage directly to your fingertips. Dive into our vast and ever-growing digital library. Discover thousands of eBooks from acclaimed and emerging African authors, spanning genres from gripping fiction and powerful poetry to insightful non-fiction. Explore curated collections tailored to your interests and find your next page-turner in seconds. But your reading options don't stop there. Masobe offers flexible access to suit your needs: Read Instantly: Get immediate access to a vast selection of eBooks. Rent a Book: Want to try before you buy or read something just once? Rent popular titles for a fraction of the cost. Own a Physical Copy: Found a book you can't live without? Seamlessly order a physical text copy directly through the app to build your personal library. From digital discovery to physical ownership, Masobe connects you to the stories you love. Download now and experience African literature like never before.
Blackauthored
Discover and track books by Black authors with this app. Filter by genre, trope, and spice level to find your next read. Organize your reading list, rate books with precision, and connect with other readers.
- Discover books by Black authors
- Filter by genre, trope, and spice level
- Track reading status (want to read, reading, read,DNF)
- Explore community-made lists
- View author catalogs in order
- Rate books with decimal precision
- Set reading goals and streaks
- Connect with other readers
Read full descriptionHide full description
Finding books by Black authors shouldn’t be a challenge. So we built Blackauthored—a space designed to help you discover, track, and obsess over your next read. Because finding one good Black-authored read often leads to needing ten more, Blackauthored helps you: - Filter by genres, tropes, spice level and more to find exactly the kind of mess you’re craving - Track books by Black authors that you want to read, are currently reading, have read, or did not finish. - Explore community-made lists with oddly-specific recommendations that hit the spot - Discover authors’ catalogs in their recommended reading order because accidentally starting with book 4 is stressful enough - Rate your reads with decimal precision because sometimes a book is a 4.5, not a 5 - Stay on top of your reading goals and streaks while pretending you’ve got your TBR under control. - Become mutuals with readers who put you onto hidden gems before the hype catches on.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Blackauthored at none against Masobe's 11. Blackauthored also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 71%) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). Masobe's advantage is ratings volume (15 vs 3) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads 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
Both are free to download. Masobe sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $4.00 per month. Blackauthored asks for nothing beyond the download.
Blackauthored holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Masobe has 15 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Masobe's written reviews are positive against 100% of Blackauthored's.
Masobe ships an update every 4 days, Blackauthored every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 10, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Masobe | Blackauthored |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (15 ratings) | 4.7 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 71.4% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 15 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #206 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 103 MB | 54 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Safespace | Blackauthored |
Customer experience
Masobe
Blackauthored
In-app purchases
Masobe
- Reader$4.001 Month
- Bookworm$8.001 Month
- Scholar$12.001 Month
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Reader Plan Yearly$44.001 Year
- Bookworm Yearly Plan$89.991 Year
- Scholar Yearly Plan$133.991 Year
- 11-day$5.59
- Gift Scholar Plan Monthly$12.00
- Gift Reader Plan Yearly$44.00
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Gift Bookworm Plan Yearly$89.99
- Gift Scholar Plan Monthly$133.99
Blackauthored
No in-app purchases





