1. Kobo app 78/100
Free app; Kobo Plus from $9.99/mo — desk-checked, unverified · iOS, Android, Web
Broad format support, library borrowing built in, and a cheaper subscription in an ecosystem you can actually leave later.
The catch: Smaller store, plainer app; the lock-in table is where it wins.
Read the full Kobo app review
INSTALL78/100
Readers building a library they can move
- Reading and listening experience: 15 out of 20
- Library and catalog fit: 12 out of 15
- Ownership and lock-in: 12 out of 15
- Sync and cross-platform: 8 out of 10
- Discovery and tracking: 7 out of 10
- Price honesty: 9 out of 10
- Accessibility: 7 out of 10
- Staying power: 8 out of 10
DESK REVIEW · PROVISIONAL
2. Kindle app 78/100
Free app; store prices vary · iOS, Android, Web, Desktop
The deepest store, sync that never fails, and the least generous ownership terms on this site, which is a trade worth making only with your eyes open.
The catch: The least generous lock-in table on the site; day-one settings listed in the review.
Read the full Kindle app review
INSTALL78/100
Readers who want the store to have everything
- Reading and listening experience: 16 out of 20
- Library and catalog fit: 14 out of 15
- Ownership and lock-in: 5 out of 15
- Sync and cross-platform: 10 out of 10
- Discovery and tracking: 7 out of 10
- Price honesty: 8 out of 10
- Accessibility: 8 out of 10
- Staying power: 10 out of 10
DESK REVIEW · PROVISIONAL
3. Apple Books 74/100
Free app; store prices vary · iOS, iPadOS, macOS
The best-looking reading experience on Apple hardware with family sharing that actually works, priced at the cost of never leaving the ecosystem.
The catch: Apple-only; leaving means leaving the books behind.
Read the full Apple Books review
INSTALL74/100
All-Apple households
- Reading and listening experience: 17 out of 20
- Library and catalog fit: 12 out of 15
- Ownership and lock-in: 6 out of 15
- Sync and cross-platform: 8 out of 10
- Discovery and tracking: 6 out of 10
- Price honesty: 8 out of 10
- Accessibility: 8 out of 10
- Staying power: 9 out of 10
DESK REVIEW · PROVISIONAL
4. Libby 84/100
$0 with a library card · iOS, Android, Web
Free audiobooks and ebooks with a library card, in an app that is genuinely pleasant, and the friendliest ownership terms possible because you were only ever borrowing.
The catch: Holds queues on popular titles; the waiting is the price.
Read the full Libby review
INSTALL84/100
Almost everyone, first
- Reading and listening experience: 15 out of 20
- Library and catalog fit: 12 out of 15
- Ownership and lock-in: 15 out of 15
- Sync and cross-platform: 8 out of 10
- Discovery and tracking: 7 out of 10
- Price honesty: 10 out of 10
- Accessibility: 8 out of 10
- Staying power: 9 out of 10
DESK REVIEW · PROVISIONAL
5. Kindle Unlimited 68/100
$11.99/mo — desk-checked, unverified · Inside the Kindle app
A giant catalog with a shape most readers don't expect: superb for genre omnivores, thin where bestsellers live, and only cheap if you actually finish books.
The catch: Thin on frontlist; run the 10-book test before paying.
Read the full Kindle Unlimited review
SAMPLE FIRST68/100
Genre series readers at 3+ books a month
- Reading and listening experience: 15 out of 20
- Library and catalog fit: 9 out of 15
- Ownership and lock-in: 6 out of 15
- Sync and cross-platform: 9 out of 10
- Discovery and tracking: 6 out of 10
- Price honesty: 7 out of 10
- Accessibility: 8 out of 10
- Staying power: 8 out of 10
DESK REVIEW · PROVISIONAL
6. Everand 67/100
$11.99/mo — desk-checked, unverified · iOS, Android, Web
One fee for audiobooks and ebooks together, genuinely good value past two books a month, as long as you accept that a rental catalog can shift under you.
The catch: Title availability can shift for heavy users; the catalog is a rotating license, not a shelf.
Read the full Everand review
SAMPLE FIRST67/100
Fast omnivores across both formats
- Reading and listening experience: 14 out of 20
- Library and catalog fit: 12 out of 15
- Ownership and lock-in: 4 out of 15
- Sync and cross-platform: 8 out of 10
- Discovery and tracking: 8 out of 10
- Price honesty: 6 out of 10
- Accessibility: 7 out of 10
- Staying power: 8 out of 10
DESK REVIEW · PROVISIONAL