BARD Mobile vs Comics Plus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BARD Mobile
Access a vast digital library of audiobooks, electronic braille books, magazines, and music scores. This service is provided by the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled to eligible US residents and citizens abroad who cannot read standard print.
- Tens of thousands of books
- Current best sellers and classics
- Popular magazines
- Music instruction and scores
- Audio and electronic braille formats
- New selections added daily
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CARRY A LIBRARY IN YOUR POCKET Access tens of thousands of books—from current best sellers to much-loved classics, popular magazines, and music instruction and scores—in audio and electronic braille, with new selections added daily. WHO IS ELIGIBLE? BARD Mobile is a service of NLS. NLS provides free audio and braille reading materials to residents of the US and American citizens living abroad who cannot read regular print. If you are blind or have temporary or permanent low vision or a physical or reading disability that prevents you from holding or reading the printed page, you may be eligible for this program. For more information, visit https://www.loc.gov/nls/about/eligibility-for-nls-services. HOW DO I GET STARTED? This app allows access for eligible users who have enrolled in the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) at the Library of Congress. To enroll, call 1-888-NLS-READ (1-888-657-7323) and follow the prompts to find your state. Or to learn more at https://www.loc.gov/thatallmayread. If you are already an NLS patron, contact your cooperating NLS library to request a BARD account. You can find your library by visiting https://www.loc.gov/nls/find-a-local-library/. SUPPORT For support and help with BARD account issues, or to report bugs, email NLSDownload@loc.gov. For FAQ, visit https://www.loc.gov/nls/braille-audio-reading-materials/bard-access/nls-bard-frequently-asked-questions/. For the User Guides: https://www.loc.gov/nls/braille-audio-reading-materials/bard-access/bard-mobile-ios-version/
Comics Plus
Access thousands of digital comics, graphic novels, manga, and picture books from numerous publishers. Enjoy unlimited reading without wait lists or late fees, and manage your progress across devices. Stream titles online or download them for offline enjoyment.
- Unlimited digital comic access
- No wait lists or borrowing limits
- Cross-device reading progress
- Online streaming and offline downloads
- Diverse publisher selection
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Comics Plus from LibraryPass gives you unlimited access to thousands of digital comics, graphic novels, manga, and picture books from dozens of publishers — exclusively through your school or library. Don’t see your school or library listed? Ask your librarian about #ReadAllTheComics! No wait lists; no borrowing limits; no late fees Manage your shelf and reading progress across devices Maintain your reading progress across devices Stream titles online without using storage space Download titles for offline reading Explore a diverse selection from publishers like ABDO, Andrews McMeel, BOOM! Studios, Capstone, Cherry Lake, Dark Horse, Europe Comics, Fantagraphics, Humanoids, Image Comics, Kodansha, Lerner, Manga Classics, Oni Press, Papercutz, Tokyopop, TOON Books, UDON Entertainment, Yen Press, and dozens more. Comics Plus is created by Joyful Reading Co, where we're dedicated to nurturing a lifelong love of reading through engagement, access, and data-driven insights. Learn more at https://comicsplusapp.com/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: BARD Mobile at 3.8 against Comics Plus's 2.5. BARD Mobile also leads on review sentiment (58% vs 20%). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
BARD Mobile holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 2.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 187 and 102 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of BARD Mobile's written reviews are positive against 20% of Comics Plus's.
BARD Mobile ships an update every 3 months, Comics Plus every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 12, 2026.
| Parameter | BARD Mobile | Comics Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (187 ratings) — better | 2.5 (102 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 57.6% of reviews — better | 20.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 187 — better | 102 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 22 MB | 40 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Library Of Congress | Library Pass, Inc. |
Customer experience
BARD Mobile
Comics Plus
User reviews
BARD Mobile
From 187 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 📚 Massive library of audiobooks and magazines
- 👍 User-friendly interface with VoiceOver support
- 🎙️ Human narrators instead of text-to-speech
- 📱 Convenient mobile access to books
- ⚡ Ability to download books offline
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent login and authentication failures
- 🐛 Download queue issues and stalled downloads
- 🐛 App crashes and freezes
- 📵 Poor braille display compatibility
- 🔌 Inconsistent VoiceOver and accessibility support
Comics Plus
From 102 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 📚 Massive collection of comics and manga
- 💰 Free access with library card
- ✅ Legal and legitimate reading platform
- 🎨 Wide variety of publishers and genres
- 📖 Ability to store unlimited books on shelf
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and force quits
- ⏳ Extremely slow loading times
- 🔍 Search function broken or non-functional
- 📖 Pages fail to load or display correctly
- ⚫ Black screen issues when opening books
Bugs and requests
BARD Mobile
Reported bugs
20 issues- Login credentials cannot be decrypted error
- Device registration failed when logging in from different locations
- Downloads stuck in queue indefinitely
- App crashes on iOS 26 and recent iOS versions
- VoiceOver focus jumping unexpectedly
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- Braille books display gibberish or won't advance properly
- Search results disappear when switching apps or receiving calls
- Playback stops when screen turns off
- Wireless headset stop button not responding
- Sleep timer not working correctly
- Books not syncing across multiple devices
- Account marked as suspended without reason
- Password reset functionality broken
- Airplay 2 compatibility issues
- Siri commands inconsistent
- Playback lag and stuttering
- Books fail to extract after download
- Recent downloads cannot be cleared
- Braille display connection issues
- Tone adjustment button not functioning
Requested features
18 requests- Genre and category filtering for book browsing
- Cross-device synchronization of bookmarks and reading position
- Equalizer and pitch shifter controls
- More playback speed options
- Volume control within the app
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- Rewind/fast-forward button customization
- Favorites list feature
- Book request/suggestion feature
- Web browser access within the app
- Braille text display alongside audio
- Dark mode for reduced brightness
- Table of contents for short story collections
- Customizable reading lists
- Ability to cleanup recent downloads
- USB flash drive support for storage
- Better book series organization
- Faster book addition to library
- Book sharing feature between patrons
Comics Plus
Reported bugs
25 issues- Login screen stuck on library selection
- Search returns blank page with no loading indicator
- Shelf fails to load
- Pages crop off at bottom
- Black screen when opening downloaded books
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- App crashes when opening new comics
- Pages display out of sync in horizontal mode
- Duplicate pages appearing consecutively
- Pages loop back to beginning after certain number
- Thumbnail not showing for resume position
- Dialog boxes cut off or positioned incorrectly
- App forgets reading position when resuming
- Vertical view does not work
- iCloud backup size inflates dramatically
- Screen goes black periodically during reading
- Network error despite active connection
- Download progress bar hangs
- Orientation change causes reading position reset
- App switches to different manga unexpectedly
- Popular page items don't load or unavailable
- Shelf deletion when launching from cloud library
- Zoom functionality unresponsive
- Page turning causes visual flash and blur
- Inconsistent page display in 2-page mode
- Home bar overlay obscures content on iPad
Requested features
18 requests- Favorites/bookmarking system with notifications
- Auto-download while using other apps
- Auto-mark books as finished
- Better search with pagination and page jumping
- Dark mode option
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- Right-to-left reading for manga
- Folder organization for shelf
- Reading history tracking
- Series completion indicators
- Next book in series recommendations
- Auto zoom feature for reading
- Smooth page transition animations
- Ability to manually move books to completion status
- App status/server status page
- Better content filtering and sorting options
- Rating system for comics
- Chapter bookmarks
- Customizable reading settings
In-app purchases
BARD Mobile
No in-app purchases
Comics Plus
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is BARD Mobile free?
Is Comics Plus free?
Which has better reviews, BARD Mobile or Comics Plus?
Do BARD Mobile or Comics Plus have ads?
Which is updated more often, BARD Mobile or Comics Plus?
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