Elsevier eLibrary Reader vs Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Elsevier eLibrary Reader
Access and read Elsevier's ebooks on your mobile devices. Organize your library into shelves, customize your reading experience with notes and highlights, and easily navigate through content. Download books directly from the eLibrary website.
- Read Elsevier ebooks on mobile
- Organize books into shelves
- Customize reading experience
- Add notes and highlights
- Bookmark pages
- Search for keywords
- Navigate via table of contents
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With the Elsevier eLibrary Reader App you can read Elsevier’s ebooks on your iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. You can organize books in to shelves, customize your reading experience, add notes or highlights to specific passages, bookmark a page and download ebooks from our eLibrary website. Download ebooks From Elsevier eLibrary website Customize your reading experience: · Add notes or highlights to specific passages, bookmark pages/locations · Select among four typefaces and adjust font size, set margins · Set background color of the Reader · Switch between horizontal swipe and vertical scroll · Set brightness level Organize: · Organize your ebooks/content by creating shelves Navigation: · Search for specific keywords and navigate to a specific passage by picking a search result · Swipe or scroll to go to previous or next page · Use the page slider to quickly navigate across · Go to specific passages from the table listing the personalization · Table of contents Formats supported: · DRM pdf from Elsevier eLibrary.
Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource
Access and read Elsevier textbooks on your iOS device. Download books for offline study, search your entire library, and add notes and highlights. Sync your progress across devices for a seamless learning experience.
- Download books for offline reading
- Search entire library
- Create notes and highlights
- Sync across devices
- Pinch to zoom figures
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Use Elsevier® eBooks to download and access Elsevier textbooks on your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. Read your books online or offline, search across your full library, and create notes and highlights to help you study. Elsevier eBooks Features: • Download books to your iOS device for easy online or offline reading. • Simple, user-friendly navigation and a clean reading experience. • Search inside your current book or across your full library. • Select text to create notes or highlights from your mobile device. • Tap to open figures, view captions and pinch to zoom. • Sync your bookmarks, last page read and all of your notes and highlights between your iOS device and our desktop or web-based Elsevier eBooks apps. Requirements: • Elsevier eBooks account • Access to one or more Elsevier textbooks • iOS 17+
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource at 4.7 against Elsevier eLibrary Reader's 1.0. Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource also leads on ratings volume (9.4K vs 80) and review sentiment (16% vs 0%). Elsevier eLibrary Reader's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.6). On price, update cadence, 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource has 9.4K ratings behind it against 80, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Elsevier eLibrary Reader's written reviews are positive against 16% of Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource's.
Elsevier eLibrary Reader ships an update every 4 months, Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Elsevier eLibrary Reader | Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.0 (80 ratings) | 4.7 (9.4K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 16.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 80 | 9.4K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 62 MB | 188 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Elsevier (Singapore) Pte Ltd | Elsevier Inc. |
Customer experience
Elsevier eLibrary Reader
Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource
User reviews
Elsevier eLibrary Reader
From 80 App Store ratingsRoom to improve
- ❌ Unable to log in
- ❌ Invalid credentials error
- ❌ App is useless
- ❌ Frustrating user experience
- ❌ Falling behind technologically
Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource
From 9.4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Convenient digital access
- 📚 Helpful study tools (e.g., flashcards)
- 👍 User-friendly interface
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent login issues
- 📱 Poor mobile app experience
- 🔍 Difficult navigation and book access
- 🔊 Subpar text-to-speech quality
- 💻 Compatibility problems across devices
Bugs and requests
Elsevier eLibrary Reader
Reported bugs
6 issues- Login failure
- Invalid login credentials
- App does not work
- Cannot sign into apps
- Credentials not being accepted
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- Login issues persist for years
Requested features
3 requests- Fix the login issue
- Improve app functionality
- Make the app compatible with online books
Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource
Reported bugs
3 issues- Repeated sentence/paragraph playback
- Highlighted text disappearing across devices
- Inability to download or access purchased books
Requested features
5 requests- Allow handwritten notes and annotations
- Improve page-turning and scrolling functionality
- Enhance diagram and image viewing experience
- Integrate seamless cross-device synchronization
- Provide more customization options (e.g., font, layout)
In-app purchases
Elsevier eLibrary Reader
No in-app purchases
Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Elsevier eLibrary Reader free?
Is Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource free?
Which has better reviews, Elsevier eLibrary Reader or Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource?
Do Elsevier eLibrary Reader or Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource have ads?
Which is updated more often, Elsevier eLibrary Reader or Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource?
Other comparisons
