Comparison

BARD Mobile vs The Palace Project

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Read full description

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/

About

The Palace Project

Access and enjoy e-books and audiobooks from your local library for free. Discover new titles, borrow them instantly with your library card, and read or listen anywhere. Even without a participating library, enjoy a collection of free books.

Highlights
  • Borrow e-books and audiobooks
  • Access local library collections
  • Read or listen to books
  • Free Palace Bookshelf collection
  • Requires library card for full access
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Palace is a free, easy-to-use e-reader app that lets you find, check out, and read or listen to books from your local library. It’s been said that libraries are “palaces for the people” and the Palace app gives you instant access to your local “palace” any time, right from the palm of your hand. All you need to sign up is your library card! And even if your library isn’t using Palace yet, you can still read more than 10,000 books--from children’s books to classics to foreign language books--for free from our Palace Bookshelf. The Palace app is built and maintained by Lyrasis, a not-for-profit organization working in partnership with Digital Public Library of America with funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. For more, visit https://thepalaceproject.org.

Screenshots

BARD Mobile2 screens
The Palace Project4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: The Palace Project at 4.6 against BARD Mobile's 3.9. The Palace Project also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (5.5K vs 203). BARD Mobile's advantage is review sentiment (58% vs 27%) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Palace Project holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Palace Project has 5.5K ratings behind it against 203, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 58% of BARD Mobile's written reviews are positive against 27% of The Palace Project's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BARD Mobile ships an update every 3 months, The Palace Project fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
BARD Mobile versus The Palace Project: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBARD MobileThe Palace Project
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (203 ratings)4.6 (5.5K ratings) — better
Positive reviews57.6% of reviews — better27.1% of reviews
Number of ratings2035.5K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank—#95 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB50 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperLibrary Of CongressThe Palace Project

Customer experience

BARD Mobile

All ratings153 ratings
Positive62.7%
Neutral15.7%
Negative21.6%
Written reviews132 reviews
Positive57.6%
Neutral18.9%
Negative23.5%

The Palace Project

All ratings5,527 ratings
Positive91.0%
Neutral4.6%
Negative4.5%
Written reviews288 reviews
Positive27.1%
Neutral22.6%
Negative50.3%

User reviews

BARD Mobile

From 203 App Store ratings

What 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

The Palace Project

From 5.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great selection of books
  • 💡 Convenient access to library books
  • 👍 Simple and easy to use

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent glitches and bugs
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 🔍 Poor search functionality
  • 🤯 Inconsistent user experience

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
Show 15 more
  • 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
Show 13 more
  • 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

The Palace Project

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Books not downloading properly
  • Losing place in audiobooks
  • Crashing and freezing issues
  • Incompatibility with certain devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to track read/listened books
  • Improved audiobook playback controls
  • Dark mode option
  • Integration with Kindle

In-app purchases

None

BARD Mobile

No in-app purchases

None

The Palace Project

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BARD Mobile free?
BARD Mobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Palace Project free?
The Palace Project is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, BARD Mobile or The Palace Project?
The Palace Project is rated higher. BARD Mobile averages 3.9 out of 5 from 203 ratings, while The Palace Project averages 4.6 from 5.5K ratings.
Do BARD Mobile or The Palace Project have ads?
Neither BARD Mobile nor The Palace Project shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BARD Mobile or The Palace Project?
BARD Mobile ships an update every 3 months, and The Palace Project fortnightly. Most recently, BARD Mobile was updated on October 26, 2026 and The Palace Project on October 27, 2026.

Other comparisons