Comparison

O'Reilly vs EBSCO Mobile

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • Connect to your library
  • Search library content
  • Access eBooks directly
  • Sync across devices
  • View eBook accessibility info
  • EBSCO Open Search option
Features
Read full description

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

O'Reilly4 screens
EBSCO Mobile4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

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

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

O'Reilly ships an update fortnightly, EBSCO Mobile monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
O'Reilly versus EBSCO Mobile: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterO'ReillyEBSCO Mobile
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (34K ratings) — better3.6 (78 ratings)
Positive reviews46.5% of reviews — better31.6% of reviews
Number of ratings34K — better78
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.513.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size65 MB64 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperO'Reilly Media, Inc.EBSCO Publishing

Customer experience

O'Reilly

All ratings33,922 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral2.5%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews355 reviews
Positive46.5%
Neutral13.8%
Negative39.7%

EBSCO Mobile

All ratings78 ratings
Positive60.3%
Neutral6.4%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews38 reviews
Positive31.6%
Neutral15.8%
Negative52.6%

User reviews

O'Reilly

From 34K App Store ratings

What 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 ratings

What 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 more
  • 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 more
  • Add advanced search criteria (ISBN, DOI, etc.)
  • Manual date range selection for search
  • Improve sub-chapter navigation
  • Save reading progress

In-app purchases

None

O'Reilly

No in-app purchases

None

EBSCO Mobile

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is O'Reilly free?
O'Reilly is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is EBSCO Mobile free?
EBSCO Mobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, O'Reilly or EBSCO Mobile?
O'Reilly is rated higher. O'Reilly averages 4.7 out of 5 from 34K ratings, while EBSCO Mobile averages 3.6 from 78 ratings.
Do O'Reilly or EBSCO Mobile have ads?
Neither O'Reilly nor EBSCO Mobile shows ads.
Which is updated more often, O'Reilly or EBSCO Mobile?
O'Reilly ships an update fortnightly, and EBSCO Mobile monthly. Most recently, O'Reilly was updated on November 10, 2026 and EBSCO Mobile on November 5, 2026.

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