Kobo Books & Audiobooks alternatives

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

1. [R4] Kobo Books & Audiobooks 1/5 · US Book Doesn’t Open: Your ebook app fails to open books that have been purchased, and downloaded. I cannot justify to myself the use of something whose purported utility is gravely wanting.
2. [R10] Kobo Books & Audiobooks 2/5 · US Buggy and unpleasant to use: I really want to like this app. I strongly support kobo’s storefront model as opposed to their… competitor. I have a Kobo Libra that I use about half the time. However, this app is a very notable step behind its main competitor from a reliability and stability standpoint. The main issues are: highlights flash on and off and disappear entirely; search works *maybe* half
3. [R22] Kobo Books & Audiobooks 2/5 · US Very buggy: If they want to compete with Kindle, they’ve got a long way to go. So many bugs…where to even start? Slow, stuttering render when opening a book. Sometimes randomly deciding to ask if I want to sync to the latest page every time I turn a page…even when I’m at the latest page. Trying to tap a link (like a footnote) near the edge or bottom of a page is an exercise in frustration, it
4. [R28] Kobo Books & Audiobooks 1/5 · US Only One Book in My Library Downloads: For whatever reason, this app refuses to download all but one of my books. I’ve deleted it, reinstalled it, etc and I still have the same issue.
5. [R12] Kobo Books & Audiobooks 3/5 · US App not ready for prime time: It would be good if the phone app synced seamlessly with my Kobo, or vice versa. It currently doesn’t without multiple restarts of the Kobo, and forget the app syncing regularly.
6. [R19] Kobo Books & Audiobooks 2/5 · US Doesn’t sync: I hate that Kobo doesn’t sync books you loaded externally. I loaded a bunch of free (legal) epubs onto my Libra Coloyr but they don’t appear in this app. I wouldn’t have bought the device if I knew about this limitation. Even Amazon supports this for Kindle devices.
7. [R42] Kobo Books & Audiobooks 3/5 · GB Helpful and speedy support but …: I had an initial problem with purchases showing up on my iPad but not on my iPhone. However, I got a response from Kobo support by return which fixed it. However, I find the inaccurate synching between tablet and phone infuriating.
8. [R49] Kobo Books & Audiobooks 1/5 · GB Glitchy: I’ll close my book on my Kobo at 54%. Manually sync. Then I’ll open it on my phone and it will flip to a random page i don’t recognise. It’s pushed me back to 46%. Tech support say they plan on fixing it in a future update. Now i’m having other issues with the app. Considering using my UK Consumer Rights Act 2015 to get a return on the e-reader as this software is defective and does not f
9. [R5] Kobo Books & Audiobooks 4/5 · US Great app but confusing payment system: The app is great! Runs nicely, dark mode, nice UI, and also has a dictionary option to look up unknown words! The only thing is the payment system. From what I can tell, a subscription only covers some books, and not all in its collection. Some ebooks and audiobooks you just have to purchase.
10. [R6] Kobo Books & Audiobooks 3/5 · US Eh: I like the app but don’t like that when I want to get a book you can’t buy it in the app it takes you online and you have to sign in every single time
11. [R9] Kobo Books & Audiobooks 3/5 · US Over all good: I’ve NEVER been able to use my credits purchasing on my iPhone… Have to use computer to use credits. Additionally, have trouble downloading purchased books to iPhone. Have double checked to make sure there’s enough storage memory left on phone, have signed out and then signed in to app, and have restarted the iPhone… And then without me doing anything it will download. Frustrating.
12. [R16] Kobo Books & Audiobooks 1/5 · US I can’t get in: I have tried and tried to get in. But it says it will send me a code but I never get it. There doesn’t seem to be a way I can get in to see if there is a mistake in my phone number.
13. [R7] Kobo Books & Audiobooks 2/5 · US Terrible Accessibility: I love Kobo as a company and think they do most things well, but I can’t use their apps for ebooks because I heavily rely on screen readers and their app stops on every single page. I have to flip to the next page manually and then re-listen to the last sentence on the previous page before it will read more. It’s excruciating. My policy is to only buy ebooks on Amazon or Ap
14. [R21] Kobo Books & Audiobooks 3/5 · US Must use app for digital ownership: The app has some quirks that need to be worked out. Like any other audiobook app it gives an option for speed adjustment. Unlike other apps that I have used, that function is broken. The time ticks faster or slower based on the setting, but audio playback cuts out for anything other than the 1x setting. When I submitted a ticket for this issue, the support perso
15. [R36] Kobo Books & Audiobooks 3/5 · GB Okay, but could be better: While I like that Kobo allows me to listen to more audiobooks, not found in the Audible library, it only allows 2x speed maximum, which is so annoying (as a 2.8-3x listener), that I may not continue using the app soon. I also had some issues with book series not showing in order in menus, and issues with books not having any kind of way to read them (which led to a lot
16. [R13] Kobo Books & Audiobooks 1/5 · US Organizational nightmare: Purchases can’t be exported to a preferred e-reader. Unfortunately, details such as author, series, series order, etc. cannot be edited, even if they’re incorrect. No manual sorting available. You can create a collection, but that can’t be sorted properly either. How is anyone supposed to use this platform with any kind of sizeable library? I’m assuming the service actual
17. [R55] Amazon Kindle 5/5 · US Nice: I would prefer the ebook itself but they work that same and it works great 👍
18. [R59] Amazon Kindle 5/5 · US Titles and volumes: So many titles and so many varieties
19. [R61] Amazon Kindle 5/5 · US Keeping me sane!: So many titles included with the sub to keep my curiosity fed without need of an expansion to my house for physical books! The app also keeps track of the series that I’m reading and lets me know when the next one is available. LOVE it. And I’m one of the people who swore that she would never read from a “device”.
20. [R66] Audible 5/5 · US Excellent: This was excellent I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it
21. [R69] Audible 5/5 · US Falling in love again…: Truly enjoyed this book!
22. [R72] Audible 5/5 · US Best way to read: When your busy and have not time to read you can do both be busy and read.
23. [R74] Audible 5/5 · US Los mitos que nos dieron traumas: Prefiero escuchar que leer
24. [R80] Libby 5/5 · US Love it: Easy to use.
25. [R85] Libby 5/5 · US Read or listen anywhere: I love the ability to try out so many different books. The ability to borrow books anytime, anywhere makes this invaluable for my life. It has enhanced my learning, my enjoyment and my quality of life.
26. [R86] Libby 5/5 · US Libby is amazing: It works good and has a TON of books
27. [R87] Libby 5/5 · US Amazing!: I like omg i love itapp so much! It’s the best!❤️❤️❤️👌🏽👌🏽 it’s a perfect App for me. I love reading and my name is LIBBY for real!😊😅❤️❤️❤️❤️ thank you so much for making this app!Before I didn’t want to read but now this app made a difference in my life thank you.
28. [R94] Goodreads 5/5 · US Great Book Tracker and Social Network: I Goodreads is a great app I use to find and share books. Tracking my reading progress and getting personalized recommendations makes it fun and easy. I enjoy connecting with other book lovers through their reviews and discussions, which often offer new insights. Plus, the annual reading challenge pushes me to explore different genres and discover new authors
29. [R97] Goodreads 5/5 · US Great book source!: I use this to keep a list of my “TBR” and it’s great for keeping up with what I read in a year!
30. [R98] Goodreads 3/5 · US Why I keep using Goodreads?: I’ve used Goodreads for years, and it’s still one of my favorite apps for readers. I love being able to track everything I read, set yearly reading goals, rate books, and keep my TBR organized all in one place. The recommendations have helped me discover so many new authors and series. I also enjoy reading other readers’ reviews before deciding on my next book. It’s ea
31. [R103] Goodreads 5/5 · US Reminders of books read and loved: This app keeps me on top of the many books I enjoy and helps jog my memory for Book club when it has been months since I read the selection!
32. [R108] Barnes & Noble NOOK 5/5 · US PDF: App even support pdf. It is great experience to view pdf file in this app.
33. [R111] Barnes & Noble NOOK 4/5 · US Nook app: Love the app so far just wish could buy books in the barns and noble app instead of online
34. [R114] Barnes & Noble NOOK 5/5 · US A good reader: The app works well and is easy to use.
35. [R8] Kobo Books & Audiobooks 4/5 · US Kobo audiobooks: I like just paying a flat monthly fee and listen to as much as I’d like. The type of books I like are limited but still worth price compared to others. Wouldn’t pay more than current fee but I will continue to use for now.