Comparison

Folio vs libFT

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

Head to head
About

Folio

This app helps you meticulously track your reading progress, manage your book library, and cultivate a consistent reading habit. It allows for detailed logging of quotes, reviews, and reading statistics, offering a private and organized space for bibliophiles.

Highlights
  • Organize books into shelves
  • Save and sync favorite quotes
  • Rate books with quarter-star precision
  • Import from Goodreads/StoryGraph
  • Search, manual entry, or ISBN scan
  • Track pages, minutes, and streaks
  • Set reading goals
Features
Read full description

Your books, your reading life, your own space. • Organize your books with shelves, folders, and tags. • Track reading sessions, set goals, and see your progress. • Explore your reading stats, streaks, and calendar. • Save quotes and notes, rate books, and write reviews. • Make Folio yours with themes and a personalized reader profile. • Follow readers, explore their shelves, and exchange messages. • Choose who can see your profile and reading activity. • Discover books, browse recommendations, and explore authors. • Import from Goodreads or StoryGraph, search for books, or scan a barcode. • Keep your current read nearby with widgets and Live Activities. No ads. Read at your own pace.

About

libFT

Listen to thousands of free public-domain classics from LibriVox or your own audiobook files. This app offers a calm, focused listening experience with features like variable playback speed and cross-library continuity. Enjoy your favorite stories without ads or subscriptions.

Highlights
  • Access to thousands of free public-domain classics
  • Play your own audiobook files (.m4b, .mp3)
  • Continue listening across libraries
  • Variable playback speed
  • Lock screen and control center playback
  • Background playback
Features
Read full description

A calm, focused audiobook player for two libraries: thousands of free public-domain classics from LibriVox, and the audiobook files you already own. No subscription. No ads. No noise. Read every classic ever written. For free. LibriVox volunteers have recorded thousands of public-domain books — Pride and Prejudice, Sherlock Holmes, Crime and Punishment, Dracula, The Great Gatsby, the complete works of Dickens, Austen, Tolstoy, Twain, Verne, Doyle, and many more. Browse by popularity, search by title or author, and start listening in a tap. Chapters stream on demand — no need to download an entire book before you press play. Bring your own audiobooks. Got an .m4b you bought years ago, or a folder of .mp3 chapters from a backup? Drop them into libFT through the iOS Files app and they appear in your Library, organized by folder, with embedded cover art and natural chapter ordering preserved. Your files stay on your device — they aren't uploaded anywhere. One player. Two libraries. One place you left off. Continue Listening picks up where you stopped — whether the last chapter was a streamed LibriVox novel or a local audiobook from your own collection. Favorites, playback speed, lock-screen controls, background playback through headphones, AirPlay, and car audio all work the same across both sources. Built for long listens. - Continue Listening across both libraries - Favorites for the books you'll come back to - Variable playback speed - Lock Screen and Control Center transport controls - Background playback through headphones, AirPlay, and car audio - Auto-pause when you unplug headphones - Clean resume after phone calls - Available in English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Ukrainian No subscription. Ever. LibriVox audiobooks are recorded by volunteers and released into the public domain — they cost nothing to listen to. libFT itself is free to use. The audiobook files you already own stay yours, on your device. No tracking, no ads, no monthly fee. About LibriVox. LibriVox is a volunteer-driven project that records audio versions of public-domain books in many languages. libFT streams those recordings through the Internet Archive (archive.org). Special thanks to the thousands of LibriVox volunteers whose voices make this catalog possible.

Screenshots

Folio4 screens
libFT4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: libFT at none against Folio's 5. libFT also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). Folio's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (7 vs 2). On price, review sentiment, ads and monetization model 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. Folio sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. libFT asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

libFT holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 2 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Folio ships an update every 3 days, libFT every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Folio versus libFT: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFoliolibFT
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (7 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings7 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size118 MB22 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperMiguel PachecoLogic FT Inc

Customer experience

Folio

All ratings7 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral14.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

libFT

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Folio

Subscriptions4
  • Folio Plus Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Folio Plus Annual$8.991 Year
  • Folio Plus Annual7 Days trial$8.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Folio Plus Annual14 Days trial$8.991 Year
One-time1
  • Folio Plus Lifetime$24.99
None

libFT

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Folio free?
Folio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is libFT free?
libFT is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Folio or libFT?
libFT is rated higher. Folio averages 4.7 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while libFT averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Folio or libFT have ads?
Neither Folio nor libFT shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Folio or libFT?
Folio ships an update every 3 days, and libFT every 2 months. Most recently, Folio was updated on October 2, 2026 and libFT on October 8, 2026.

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