O'Reilly vs EBSCO Mobile
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
O'Reilly
Access a vast library of tech books, videos, and courses to build in-demand skills. Stay current with the latest in programming, AI, cloud, and more. Learn on the go with offline downloads and progress syncing.
- Thousands of books, videos, and courses
- Content on programming, AI, cloud, DevOps, cybersecurity
- Audiobooks for multitasking
- Live events and on-demand training
- Playlists for content organization
- Offline downloads and progress syncing
- AI-powered search and overviews
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Build the skills you need for the job you have—or the one you want. With the O’Reilly app paired with a membership, you’ll get access to thousands of books, videos, and courses trusted by tech practitioners around the world. Whether you’re a developer, data professional, or technology leader, O’Reilly helps you stay ahead in a rapidly evolving industry. Here are just a few ways you can use the O’Reilly app to learn today’s most critical skills: • Explore the latest in programming, AI, cloud, DevOps, and cybersecurity, with content from the people actually putting the technology to work—plus in-depth content on leadership, soft skills, and much more. • Discover best-selling titles and early releases from leading publishers, all in one digital library built for technology professionals. • Listen to thousands of audiobooks to keep the learning going while you multitask. • Watch live events and training sessions, or dive into 5,000+ courses on-demand. • Use playlists to save and organize content you’re exploring, and share them with your friends and coworkers. • Learn on the go, anywhere, with downloadable content and progress syncing across devices. • Quickly find the resources that will help you solve the problems you encounter in your day-to-day work with AI-powered search, plus AI overviews (with citations) to get up to speed on the basics. Powerful tools to support your learning: • Recommendations based on your interests and history • Playlists to organize the content you want to learn • Deep search to find answers fast across 75K+ titles, 3.7K+ audiobooks, 30K+ hours of video, and much more • Highlights and notes to capture key ideas • Adjustable reading settings including font size and night mode • Playback speed controls for faster learning Get started with one of our most popular skills: • AI and machine learning • Software development and programming • Data engineering and data science • Cloud, DevOps, and infrastructure • Cybersecurity • Product management and leadership The O’Reilly app works best with a membership. Learn more at oreilly.com.
EBSCO Mobile
Access your library's scholarly content and research materials on the go. Search, select, and read eBooks directly from the app, with seamless syncing between desktop and mobile devices. Continue your academic projects conveniently from anywhere.
- Connect to your library
- Search library content
- Access eBooks directly
- Sync across devices
- View eBook accessibility info
- EBSCO Open Search option
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Make progress on your research anytime, anywhere with EBSCO’s mobile app! Find and connect to your library, then simply search, choose, and use your library’s content. Continue your research projects even when you’re away from your desk thanks to syncing across desktop and mobile devices. Access eBooks directly from the app and find accessibility information in the eBook detail card. Designed to provide library users with an easy way to access library resources, the EBSCO app makes scholarly research more convenient. Users, please note that if you can't find (or are unable to sign-in to) your library institution, please choose "EBSCO Open Search" from the institution list and follow the prompt to start using the app.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: O'Reilly at 4.7 against EBSCO Mobile's 3.6. O'Reilly also leads on ratings volume (34K vs 78) and review sentiment (46% vs 32%). EBSCO Mobile's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.5). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
O'Reilly holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: O'Reilly has 34K ratings behind it against 78, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of O'Reilly's written reviews are positive against 32% of EBSCO Mobile's.
O'Reilly ships an update fortnightly, EBSCO Mobile monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | O'Reilly | EBSCO Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (34K ratings) — better | 3.6 (78 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 46.5% of reviews — better | 31.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 34K — better | 78 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.5 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 65 MB | 64 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | O'Reilly Media, Inc. | EBSCO Publishing |
Customer experience
O'Reilly
EBSCO Mobile
User reviews
O'Reilly
From 34K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great resource for learning
- 👍 Excellent content and library
- 💡 Helpful features like playlists
- 🚀 Offline reading and downloads
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy app with crashes and issues
- 👎 Poor reading experience and navigation
- 🔒 Frequent login issues
- 👎 Inconsistent sync across devices
EBSCO Mobile
From 78 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 🚀 Fast and easy to use
- 📚 Access to library content
- 📱 Great for on-the-go research
- 📄 Easy to email articles
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent login issues
- 🐛 App crashes often
- 🐛 Search functionality is poor
- 🐛 E-books not downloading
- 🐛 Cannot read whole pages
Bugs and requests
O'Reilly
Reported bugs
4 issues- Frequent crashes and freezes
- Unreliable downloads and offline access
- Login issues and loss of progress
- Inconsistent behavior across updates
Requested features
4 requests- Improved bookmarking and note-taking
- Customizable text formatting and layout
- Better search and content discovery
- Seamless sync across devices
EBSCO Mobile
Reported bugs
10 issues- Login malfunctions and undesired logouts
- App crashes when clicking search bar
- Cannot log in, cannot find institute
- App redirects to EBSCOzone with error
- College sign-in link not opening
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Sign-in window appears but keyboard does not
- App crashes when preparing book
- App stopped working, cannot search or see articles
- Cannot download ebooks or pdfs
- Search function doesn't find full texts of books, only fragments and abstracts
Requested features
9 requests- Add citation function
- Implement Google login
- Allow saving PDFs on iPhone
- Add 'My Folders' access
- Improve search specificity
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Add advanced search criteria (ISBN, DOI, etc.)
- Manual date range selection for search
- Improve sub-chapter navigation
- Save reading progress
In-app purchases
O'Reilly
No in-app purchases
EBSCO Mobile
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is O'Reilly free?
Is EBSCO Mobile free?
Which has better reviews, O'Reilly or EBSCO Mobile?
Do O'Reilly or EBSCO Mobile have ads?
Which is updated more often, O'Reilly or EBSCO Mobile?
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