PocketBook Reader vs BookPlayer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PocketBook Reader
This app is a versatile reader supporting 26 book and audio formats, including EPUB, PDF, and audiobooks. It offers features like PDF reflow, text-to-speech, cloud synchronization, and extensive customization options for a comfortable reading experience.
- Supports 26 book and audio formats
- PDF Reflow function
- Text-to-speech engine
- Cloud synchronization service
- Customizable interface and reading settings
- Adobe DRM support
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PocketBook Reader is a free app for reading all formats (books, magazines, textbooks, comic books, etc.) and listening to audiobooks! The application supports 26 book and audio formats, including mobi, epub, fb2, cbz, cbr. Read without ads and with total comfort! Choose any content - any format! • Support of 19 book formats, including the most popular - EPUB, FB2, MOBI, PDF, DJVU, DOCX, RTF, TXT, HTML; • Comic book formats CBR and CBZ; • Open books protected with Adobe DRM (PDF, EPUB); • PDF Reflow function (reflow text in PDF files). Listen to audiobooks! • You can listen to audiobooks and other audio files in MP3, M4B, and take notes in them; • Built-in TTS (Text-to-speech) engine for the voicing of the text files. Download and sync content easily! • Free PocketBook Cloud service for synchronizing all your books, including audiobooks, as well as reading positions, notes and bookmarks on all your devices; • Your files from Dropbox or Google Books services are easily connected to the app to create one consolidated library. You can even connect multiple accounts at the same time; • Support for OPDS catalogs - get access to network libraries; • ISBN scanner, for quick search of electronic versions of books by barcode; • Opportunity to borrow books and periodicals; • If you have a E Ink e-reader PocketBook, you can easily synchronize all your books and accounts just by scanning a QR code. Ready to switch from another app? No problem! Getting started with PocketBook Reader is easy! With an intuitive interface, the application provides you with unprecedented freedom – lots of options for settings and no restrictions. Choose, change, customize, and personalize! • Intuitive interface, easy navigation, and minimalistic design; • Opportunity to choose one of the seven interface color themes, reassign the buttons and display areas; • Two night-reading modes - for better reading comfort anytime; • Adjust the font style, font size, line spacing, and margin size; • Animation of turning pages; • Opportunity to crop margins – make the page look exactly the way you want. Get fast file access and easy search! • All files are quickly found and instantly opened, even with built-in audio and video fragments; • Your books will never be lost in the device’s memory - thanks to the smart search, scanning files on your tablet or smartphone is a matter of seconds. Any file or document can be found in a few clicks! • The app allows you to sort books, create collections, filter and mark files as you like. Your library - your rules; • Convenient managing of audio files - it is easy to sort and play your audiobooks. Make bookmarks, take notes, add comments! • You can quickly find all your notes and share them with friends via email or messengers; • Collect all your notes, bookmarks, and comments into separate files for even greater convenience. PocketBook Reader was created by avid readers for avid readers, and that’s why it’s probably the best e-book reader app.
BookPlayer
This app provides a dedicated listening experience for audiobooks in M4B, M4A, MP3, and FLAC formats. It offers robust import, management, and playback features, including chapter navigation, variable playback speed, and cloud sync for seamless listening across devices.
- Import audiobooks via AirDrop, Files, iTunes, servers, and zip files
- Manage library with progress tracking, sorting, and playlists
- Advanced playback controls including speed, rewind, and volume boost
- Chapter navigation and lock screen controls
- Cloud sync for cross-device listening
- CarPlay and Apple Watch companion app support
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A wonderful player for your M4B/M4A/MP3/FLAC based audiobooks. Import – Using AirDrop from your Mac or iOS device – From Files and other apps on your device – Via File Sharing in iTunes on your Mac or PC – From your own AudibookShelf or Jellyfin server – Zip files with your folders and books Manage – Maintain and see progress of your books – Mark books as finished – Drag & Drop to sort your library – Create playlists – Automatically play items in turn – Play the first unfinished file by tapping on the playlist artwork – Move files to playlists from the library or import them directly – Edit your book details (title, author, artwork) – Connect to your Hardcover.app account, and track your library progress Listen – Control audio playback from the lock screen, control center or from the companion app on the Apple Watch – Play and navigate books with Chapters – Jump to start of the current book – Change playback speed – Smart rewind – Volume Boost – Support for remote events from headset buttons and the lock screen – Sleep timer with adjustable duration – CarPlay support – VoiceOver support – Dolby Atmos support – Dark mode for night owls – Continue listening across your devices with Cloud Sync, including stand alone playback on your Apple Watch Supported M4B/M4A/MP3 BookPlayer is licensed under GNU General Public License v3.0. The source code and a list of all its contributors can be found on the GitHub page of this project at www.github.com/TortugaPower/BookPlayer You can see our Privacy policy and terms of use in the following links: – https://github.com/TortugaPower/BookPlayer/blob/main/PRIVACY_POLICY.md – https://github.com/TortugaPower/BookPlayer/blob/main/TERMS_CONDITIONS.md For help and ways to contribute to the project see the support section in the Settings screen of BookPlayer or visit www.bookplayer.app If you enjoy BookPlayer, we would be glad if you consider writing a review.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: BookPlayer at 83% against PocketBook Reader's 54%. BookPlayer also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). PocketBook Reader's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. PocketBook Reader sells 41 one-off in-app purchases and BookPlayer sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
BookPlayer holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9.8K and 19K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 54% of PocketBook Reader's written reviews are positive against 83% of BookPlayer's.
PocketBook Reader ships an update every 2 months, BookPlayer every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PocketBook Reader | BookPlayer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (9.8K ratings) | 4.8 (19K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 54.5% of reviews | 83.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 9.8K | 19K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #136 | #53 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 106 MB | 95 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Pocketbook International SA | Gianni Carlo |
Customer experience
PocketBook Reader
BookPlayer
User reviews
PocketBook Reader
From 9.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Convenient reading experience
- 🚀 Smooth scrolling
- 💡 Customizable settings (font, margin, etc.)
- 🔒 Supports DRM-protected content
- 👍 Intuitive user interface
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Unreliable cloud sync
- 🐛 Inconsistent page rendering
- 🐛 Buggy text highlighting and annotation
- 🐛 Slow loading times
BookPlayer
From 19K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Flawless playback
- 👍 Intuitive and clean interface
- 💡 Ability to import from various sources
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 👍 Remembers playback position
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes or glitches
- 🐛 Issues with importing or playing certain files
- 🐛 Syncing issues between devices
- 🐛 Unreliable performance after updates
Bugs and requests
PocketBook Reader
Reported bugs
4 issues- Books disappearing from library after login issues
- Inability to open DRM-protected PDFs
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between portrait and landscape modes
- Text-to-speech voice quality issues
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to organize books into custom folders
- Option to disable quick action zones
- Improved text-to-speech controls (seek, pause, etc.)
- Support for handwritten annotations with Apple Pencil
- Faster page turning and scrolling
BookPlayer
Reported bugs
3 issues- Playback issues with certain audio formats
- Importing problems with large audiobook libraries
- Crashes when deleting books
Requested features
6 requests- Bookmark management
- Percentage completion tracking
- Improved multi-file book handling
- Customizable sleep timer
- iCloud/cloud sync between devices
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- Siri/Shortcuts integration
In-app purchases
PocketBook Reader
- eBook3 variants$0.99
- eBook (class A)$0.99
- eBook2 variants$1.99
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- eBook (class B)$1.99
- eBook$2.95
- eBook2 variants$2.99
- eBook (class C)$2.99
- eBook3 variants$3.99
- eBook: type 4.79$3.99
- eBook: type 4.19$3.99
- eBook (class D)$3.99
- eBook (class Alt5)$4.99
- eBook: type 5.39$4.99
- eBook (class F)$4.99
- eBook: type 5.89$4.99
- eBook$4.99
- eBook: type 5.09$4.99
- eBook (class G)$5.99
- eBook2 variants$5.99
- eBook: type 7.09$5.99
- eBook: type 7.19$5.99
- eBook: type 8.29$6.99
- eBook: type 7.59$6.99
- eBook3 variants$7.99
- eBook: type 8.89$7.99
- eBook (class J)$8.99
- eBook$8.99
- eBook$9.90
- eBook2 variants$9.99
- eBook (class L)$10.99
- eBook: type 13.9$11.90
- eBook$11.99
- eBook: type 12.99$11.99
- eBook$12.99
- eBook (class N)$12.99
- eBook (class O)$13.99
- eBook: type 17.9$14.90
- eBook$14.99
- eBook (class R)$16.99
- eBook (class T)$18.99
- eBook (class W)$21.99
BookPlayer
- Support Monthly (1 Month)$1.991 Month
- Support Monthly (1 Month)$2.991 Month
- Support Monthly (1 Month)$3.991 Month
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- Pro Monthly (1 Month)$4.991 Month
- Support Monthly (1 Month)$6.991 Month
- Support Monthly (1 Month)$9.991 Month
- Pro Yearly (1 Year)$49.991 Year
- Kind tip$2.99
- Kind Tip$2.99
- Excellent Tip2 variants$4.99
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- Incredible Tip2 variants$9.99
Questions
Is PocketBook Reader free?
Is BookPlayer free?
Which has better reviews, PocketBook Reader or BookPlayer?
Do PocketBook Reader or BookPlayer have ads?
Which is updated more often, PocketBook Reader or BookPlayer?
Which is more popular, PocketBook Reader or BookPlayer?
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