1. Home
  2. Topics
  3. Openstax

Best Openstax Apps

249+ iOS apps curated and reviewed

4.2 avg rating
20 free apps
Updated September 2026

The best openstax apps on iPhone average 4.2★ across 249+ titles — we've ranked them by what real users actually keep on their phones. Updated September 2026.

Compare top Openstax Apps (September 2026)

#AppPriceRatingAdsIn-App PurchasesUpdated
1BookshelfBookshelfFree4.7★ (78K)NoNoSep 2026
2Khan AcademyKhan AcademyFree4.6★ (110K)NoNoSep 2026
3Apple BooksApple BooksFree4.4★ (89K)NoNoSep 2026
4Elsevier eBooks on VitalSourceElsevier eBooks on VitalSourceFree4.7★ (9.2K)NoNoSep 2026
5American GovernmentAmerican GovernmentFree—NoNoMay 2026
6GymBook ・ Strength TrainingGymBook ・ Strength TrainingFree4.8★ (2.4K)NoYesSep 2026
7Goodreads: Book Tracker & MoreGoodreads: Book Tracker & MoreFree4.8★ (747K)NoNoSep 2026
8Google Play Books & AudiobooksGoogle Play Books & AudiobooksFree4.4★ (9.6K)NoNoSep 2026

Top Picks for Openstax

Bookshelf#1

Bookshelf by VitalSource Technologies, Inc.

Editor's Choice
📚 Education
4.7😐(78K ratings)
Free
#90in Education
Bookshelf screenshot 1
Bookshelf screenshot 2
Bookshelf screenshot 3
Bookshelf screenshot 4
Bookshelf screenshot 5
Bookshelf screenshot 6

Access and study your digital textbooks on your iPad or iPhone. This app allows for offline reading, note-taking, flashcard creation, and customizable reading settings. Sync your progress across devices for a seamless study experience.

What We Love

  • 📚 Convenient access to textbooks
  • 🔍 Useful search functionality
  • 📚 Offline reading capability
  • 🔖 Bookmark and note-taking features
  • 🔊 Text-to-speech option

Room to Improve

  • 🐛 Buggy highlighting and annotation tools
  • 🖋️ Lack of Apple Pencil support
  • 📚 Restricted functionality compared to other e-book apps
  • 🔍 Inconsistent search and navigation experience
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 🤖 Poor text-to-speech quality
Khan Academy#2

Khan Academy by Khan Academy

You can learn anything
Strong Contender
📚 Education
4.6😊(110K ratings)
Free
#77in Education
Khan Academy screenshot 1
Khan Academy screenshot 2
Khan Academy screenshot 3
Khan Academy screenshot 4
Khan Academy screenshot 5
Khan Academy screenshot 6

Access a vast library of free educational content, including interactive exercises, videos, and articles. Master subjects from math and science to humanities and finance at your own pace, with offline access and personalized learning paths.

What We Love

  • 🚀 Impeccable app
  • 👍 Very easy to learn with
  • 👍 Great for learning math
  • 👍 Excellent math program
  • 👍 Fantastic learning tool
  • 👍 Awesome learning app
  • 👍 Amazing for all ages
  • 👍 Best learning app ever
  • 👍 Incredible learning app
  • 👍 Excellent education resource
  • 👍 Awesome for learning
  • 👍 Helped me a lot
  • 👍 Taught me everything I know in math
  • 👍 Best free learning app I have ever used
  • 👍 Excellent app, easy to navigate
  • 👍 Wonderful in every way!
  • 👍 Fantastic app
  • 👍 Amazing app, but...
  • 👍 Awesome, just one small bug
  • 👍 Prefer it to University
  • 👍 Can't believe this is free!!!

Room to Improve

  • 🐛 New writing system issues
  • 🐛 Incorrect grammar
  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches
  • 🐛 Deleted all my progress
  • 🐛 Annoying keyboard issues
  • 🐛 Laggy and buggy
  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 🐛 Lack of split screen support
  • 🐛 Formatting issues in math exercises
  • 🐛 Bugged answer input
  • 🐛 Useless work area
  • 🐛 Frustrating interface
  • 🐛 Constant glitches
  • 🐛 Horrible interface, full of glitches
Apple Books#3

Apple Books by Apple

Read, listen, discover.
Worth Considering
📚 Books
4.4😐(89K ratings)
Free
Apple Books screenshot 1
Apple Books screenshot 2
Apple Books screenshot 3
Apple Books screenshot 4
Apple Books screenshot 5

Discover, read, and listen to millions of books and audiobooks. Browse curated collections, personalized recommendations, and bestsellers. Customize your reading experience with various themes and settings, and set reading goals to build a habit. Share your library with family.

What We Love

  • 🚀 Seamless integration across devices
  • 📚 Vast library of books available
  • 👍 User-friendly interface
  • 🎧 Exceptional audiobook experience

Room to Improve

  • 🐛 Books get deleted from local storage
  • 🐛 Unreliable syncing between devices
  • 🔒 Lack of audio closed captions
  • 🤔 Pricing concerns for some books
  • 🤔 Frustrating UI changes in recent updates

More Openstax apps to explore

FAQ about Openstax

What are the best openstax apps for iPhone?
Bookshelf tops our openstax apps ranking as of September 2026, with a 4.7-star average from 78K App Store ratings, and it's free to download.
Yes — 20 of the top openstax apps we rank are free to download, including Bookshelf and Khan Academy.
Bookshelf has no ads and has no in-app purchases, according to its App Store listing as of September 2026.
We track 249+ openstax apps on the iOS App Store as of September 2026, ranked by rating, recency, and analysis of real user reviews.
The Bookshelf app provides a digital-first study experience for your VitalSource textbooks on your iPad or iPhone. It allows you to access, read, and study your textbooks anytime, anywhere, with features designed to enhance learning.
Key features include downloading books for offline reading, customizing highlighters and adding notes, creating flashcards with text and images, personalizing reading settings like font and background colors, and using the Read Aloud feature to listen to your books.