Leanpub vs BookPlayer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Leanpub
Access your entire ebook library on your mobile device. Discover new titles, take notes, and switch between reading modes. Authors can also write and publish their own books directly through the platform.
- Read Leanpub ebooks
- Discover new ebooks
- Sync notes across devices
- Dark and Light Mode reading
- Write and publish books
- Read ebook samples
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Leanpub is the world's best platform for reading and writing ebooks. Download the app to read and listen to all the ebooks in your Leanpub library on your iPhone and iPad. Discover new authors and ebooks in the Leanpub store. Take Leanpub courses right in the app, with lessons, videos, and quizzes. Write and publish your own books using powerful features for authors — now including real-time collaborative writing. With the Leanpub app you can: Read all your Leanpub ebooks, including PDF books, with full offline support Listen to your books with Read Aloud: background playback with follow-along highlighting Take courses with video lessons and quizzes with instant feedback Discover new Leanpub ebooks, courses, and bundles Take notes and highlights within books and sync them across devices Share favorite passages as beautiful quote cards Keep reading from your Home Screen with widgets like Continue Reading, The Shelf, and Passage of the Day Join the conversation in your books' community forums Write on the go: draft chapters, edit visually, and preview and publish new versions Write together with your co-authors in real time Manage co-authors, browse your royalties, and organize collections in the Author studio Choose between Dark Mode and Light Mode for comfortable reading Read samples of ebooks, where available Use credits to add new books to your library Write and publish reviews of books right from your library By using this app, you agree to the Leanpub Terms of Service (https://leanpub.com/terms), Privacy Policy (https://leanpub.com/privacy), Copyright Policy (https://leanpub.com/takedown) and Refund Policy (https://leanpub.com/refunds).
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 Leanpub's 13%. BookPlayer also leads on ratings volume (20K vs 1) and update cadence (every 10 days vs monthly). Leanpub's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 15) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. BookPlayer sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Leanpub asks for nothing beyond the download.
Leanpub holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BookPlayer has 20K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 13% of Leanpub's written reviews are positive against 83% of BookPlayer's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Leanpub ships an update monthly, BookPlayer every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Leanpub | BookPlayer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 4.8 (20K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 12.5% of reviews | 82.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 20K — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #55 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.5 | 18.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 33 MB | 94 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Leanpub | Gianni Carlo |
Customer experience
Leanpub
BookPlayer
Bugs and requests
Leanpub
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
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
Leanpub
No in-app purchases
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









