DeerReader vs Absorb
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
DeerReader
Organize and listen to your digital audiobooks with a beautiful, intelligent player. Features adaptive UI, fast search, and automatic sorting into collections using AI. Enjoy a seamless listening experience with home screen widget access.
- Adaptive player UI matching audiobook cover
- Fast, unified search for books and authors
- Home screen widget for instant access
- AI-powered automatic organization into collections
- Intuitive playback controls
- Support for large digital libraries
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Your audiobooks, beautifully organized. DeerReader is a sleek, intelligent audiobook player designed for serious listeners and collectors. Whether you have a few favorites or a sprawling digital library, DeerReader gives you the tools to make listening effortless and beautiful. -- Seamless Listening Experience -- DeerReader adapts to you. The player UI matches your audiobook cover, so every session feels immersive and cohesive. Play, pause, and skip with intuitive controls designed for long sessions. -- Instant Search, Instant Listening -- Find the right book, author, or collection in seconds. Our fast, unified search makes browsing huge libraries feel light and responsive. -- Home Screen Widget -- Stay in the story, right from your home screen. Instantly jump back into your audiobook with our widget and see your recent listens at a glance. -- Let Apple Intelligence Do the Sorting -- DeerReader can use Apple Intelligence to automatically organize your audiobooks into themed collections and series, complete with matching artwork and clean labels (perfect for large libraries). ----- Why DeerReader? - Designed with audiobook lovers in mind - Gorgeous, adaptive design - Home screen widget access - Full collection support - Lightning-fast search - Intelligent auto-sorting Whether you’re replaying a classic or diving into something new, DeerReader makes every listen smoother, smarter, and more beautiful. 100% Private DeerReader never collects or transmits your data. Everything stays on your device, always. A subscription removes the hourly support message. Payment will be charged to your Apple account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period. Your account will be charged according to your plan for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current billing period. You can manage or turn off auto-renew in your Apple ID account settings at any time after purchase. Privacy Policy: https://www.deerreader.app/privacy.html Terms of Service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Please reach out for support at: cloverfield.tech.llc@gmail.com
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
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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 DeerReader's 1. Absorb also leads on ratings volume (111 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.1). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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. DeerReader sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year. Absorb asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for DeerReader against 4.9 for Absorb. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Absorb has 111 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of DeerReader's written reviews are positive against 97% of Absorb's.
DeerReader ships an update every 5 weeks, Absorb monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | DeerReader | Absorb |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | 4.9 (111 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 97.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 111 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 26.1 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 72 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cloverfield Technologies LLC | Nathan Poulson |
Customer experience
DeerReader
Absorb
In-app purchases
DeerReader
- Yearly Support Subscription$9.991 Year
Absorb
No in-app purchases
