Comparison

Scuba vs Listening Library

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

Head to head
About

Scuba

Discover and read classic books with a modern, mobile-first approach. This app breaks down stories into digestible beats, using vertical swipes for natural phone navigation. Story recaps and offline reading features help you maintain your reading habit.

Highlights
  • Story beats for easier reading
  • Recaps to remember story progress
  • Vertical swiping for phone reading
  • Home screen widget for current book
  • Offline reading support
  • Curated bookstore
Read full description

Scuba is a new way to read books on your phone. Browse a curated bookstore, then read with Story Beatsβ„’, a new reading experience designed for your phone. Natural vertical swiping, beautifully designed pages and Story So Far recaps make books feel at home on your screen. Your first book is free. Features β€’ Story Beatsβ„’ designed for reading on your phone β€’ Natural vertical swiping β€’ Story So Far recaps to help you dive back in β€’ Adjustable text size, themes and page design β€’ Home Screen widget for your current book β€’ Offline reading β€’ A curated bookstore of classic books Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Listening Library

Features
Read full description

The Listening Library app allows you to play audiobooks no matter where you decide to self-host them! With support for iCloud, Google Drive, Jellyfin, Plex, Audiobookshelf, and just locally on your phone, you just need this one app to get to all of your books. Listening Library has full audio control widgets, a customizable sleep timer, listening stats, the ability to stream or download the audiobook, and more! To be completely transparent, while local files, iCloud, and Google Drive are all free with the your download, if you want to use any of self-hosted servers (Jellyfin, Plex, and AudioBookShelf) you will be asked to pay a small, one-time fee via an In-App Purchase. However, If we add new sources behind the In-App Purchase, you will automatically get them!

Screenshots

Scuba4 screens
Listening Library3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Scuba at every 2 days against Listening Library's weekly. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Scuba sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Listening Library sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Scuba ships an update every 2 days, Listening Library weekly. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference Β· 7 level
Scuba versus Listening Library: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScubaListening Library
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews100.0% of reviewsβ€”
Update frequencyEvery 2 days β€” betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesβ€”
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch β€” better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size50 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTim BrownMatthew Hood

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Scuba

Subscriptions2
  • Scuba Reading Pass$4.991 Month
  • Scuba Reading Pass7 Days trial$24.991 Year
1 purchases

Listening Library

One-time1
  • Server Sources$4.99

Questions

Is Scuba free?
Scuba is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Listening Library free?
Listening Library is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Scuba or Listening Library have ads?
Neither Scuba nor Listening Library shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Scuba or Listening Library?
Scuba ships an update every 2 days, and Listening Library weekly. Most recently, Scuba was updated on November 5, 2026 and Listening Library on November 5, 2026.

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