Sanctuary vs Reader Audiobooks
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sanctuary
Discover and enjoy a vast collection of classic and new short stories. Read or listen to daily curated editions, track your reading progress, and customize your experience. Aspiring writers can also publish their work and build a readership.
- Daily curated short story editions
- Read or listen to stories
- Customizable reading experience
- Track reading progress
- Publish your own stories
- Build writer portfolio
- Leave reviews and comments
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Short stories are back. Welcome to Sanctuary, the new home for short fiction. From classics to new stories, you'll find fiction that stays with you. Discover new & classic short stories - because reading well doesn't have to be difficult. Make reading a habit - tune in to the daily Edition, a collection of hand-picked stories from talented writers, shown to all Sanctuary readers every day. Reclaim your time by listening during your commute, whilst doing chores, or instead of scrolling social media. On Sanctuary, you can unwind, share, and track your reading. Sanctuary is a community, not just a platform - you can grow your library, track your reading, and leave reviews. Listen to any story as an audiobook, or read your way with customisable font sizing and spacing. Whether you’re a reader, a writer, or wish you read more, Sanctuary is where you’ll find short fiction worth your time. Publish your writing on Sanctuary to build readership, collect reviews, and host a portfolio of your work on a beautiful setting. Share your portfolio with one click, get featured in the daily Edition, and see how readers enjoy your stories. Short story writers have been forgotten for too long - join us as we bring short stories back into the mainstream. All genres are welcome, from mystery to poetry; if you can write, you'll find your space on Sanctuary. DISCOVER SHORT STORIES EVERY DAY Every day, Sanctuary’s daily Edition brings readers a hand-picked collection of short stories from across the app. Explore new voices, classic fiction, literary stories, mysteries, romance, poetry, thrillers, horror, fantasy, and more. Whether you have five minutes before bed, a quiet commute, a coffee break, or a few minutes away from scrolling, Sanctuary helps you find something memorable and worth reading. READ OR LISTEN IN MINUTES Short stories are perfect for modern life: easy to start, satisfying to finish, and powerful enough to stay with you. Read on your phone with a clean, elegant reading experience, or listen to stories with audio narration while commuting, cooking, doing chores, or relaxing. Save stories to your library, track your reading, and come back whenever you have time. MAKE READING A HABIT Sanctuary is designed to help reading fit real life again. Tune in to the daily Edition, grow your personal library, follow writers you love, leave reviews and comments, and discover stories you might never have found elsewhere. Customise your reading experience with adjustable font style, size and spacing, so every story feels comfortable on your screen. PUBLISH YOUR SHORT STORIES Sanctuary is built for writers. Publish your writing, create a public writer profile, and host your stories in one beautiful, shareable portfolio. Share your profile with one click, collect reviews, track how readers interact with your work, and build readership over time. You can publish to your profile freely, or submit your strongest work to be considered for curated recommendation in the daily Edition. Approved stories can be recommended to readers across the app and featured alongside other standout short fiction. FOR READERS Read short stories in minutes Listen with audio narration Discover a new daily Edition Browse classics, originals, and contemporary fiction Explore genres and moods Save stories to your personal library Track your reading Follow writers and discover new voices Leave reviews and comments Customise font size and spacing FOR WRITERS Publish your own short stories Build a public writer profile Host a shareable writing portfolio Submit stories for curated recommendation Reach real readers through the daily Edition Collect reviews and comments View writer analytics Share your work with one click Turn your stories into something readers can find, read, hear, and remember Short stories deserve more than being buried in magazines, notes apps, PDFs, and forgotten folders. Read daily. Listen anytime. Publish something worth discovering.
Reader Audiobooks
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Reader brings your personal audiobooks and podcasts into one player. Create separate audiobook libraries for each source and manage only the folders you choose—Reader does not scan an entire device or cloud drive. Key features: - Save your favorite audiobooks and find them together on your bookshelf - Enjoy adaptive iPhone and iPad layouts, including split views and a spacious wide-screen player on iPad - Build libraries from local folders, Google Drive, or iCloud Drive - Scan only a selected folder and its subfolders - Recognize M4B, M4A, and MP3 files and group multi-track audiobooks - Display book covers with less repeated loading and network use - Play local files directly and stream supported remote sources - Remember listening position and sync progress when supported by a connected network media library - Continue playback in the background and use lock-screen or headset controls - Rescan, update, or remove each library independently - Discover recommended podcasts without a Reader account, search Apple Podcasts by keyword, or paste a public RSS/Atom address - Preview and play a podcast before following it; remember listening progress on this device - Return to recently played podcast episodes from Listening History - Listen within a show from oldest to newest or newest to oldest, with continuous playback and progress restored after reopening the app - Permanently unlock unlimited audiobook libraries and books, plus compatible network media libraries and read-only WebDAV connections Google Drive access is read-only. Remove a connected library from Reader without deleting the original audio files. Podcast discovery, search, following, and listening are free and separate from audiobook library limits. Podcast feeds, artwork, and audio come from their publishers and delivery services; Reader does not host or sell those programmes and does not provide podcast downloads. Apple search filters out shows marked explicit by default. You can change this setting, and Reader remembers your choice. This filter applies only to Apple search results; it does not restrict recommendations, direct RSS or followed shows, verify age, or guarantee content is suitable for younger listeners. For audiobooks, the free version supports local folders, Google Drive, and iCloud Drive, with one library containing up to 10 books in total. A one-time Permanent Unlock removes those library and book limits and enables compatible network media libraries and WebDAV. It is not a subscription and does not purchase podcast content. Purchases and purchase restoration are handled through the Apple App Store.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Sanctuary at none against Reader Audiobooks's 1. Reader Audiobooks's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). On price, ads, device support 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. Reader Audiobooks sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Sanctuary asks for nothing beyond the download.
Sanctuary ships an update every 3 months, Reader Audiobooks weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sanctuary | Reader Audiobooks |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 51 MB | 30 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Sanctuary Stories LTD | 德书 林 |
In-app purchases
Sanctuary
No in-app purchases
Reader Audiobooks
- Reader Permanent Unlock$5.99









