Which book apps run where, and which let you leave with your books?
This table puts all 20 apps we score side by side on the facts that decide whether an app fits your life: the platforms it runs on, the formats it handles, whether its books carry DRM, how you export your data, and whether it works offline. It is generated from the same data as our reviews, so when a review changes, this page changes with it.
How do you read the matrix?
Start with the Platforms column and strike out anything that does not run on your devices. Then look at DRM and Export together: an app with DRM and no export path is a one-way door, which is fine for a library app you borrow from and costly for a store you buy from. Offline matters if you read on planes or commutes.
Prices are bands, not quotes; the price tracker carries the dated figures. Scores link to the full review, where the lock-in table spells out each row in more detail.
What patterns stand out?
Library apps (Libby, Hoopla) carry DRM on every loan and still score well on ownership, because you never paid to own anything. Store apps split sharply: Kobo and Apple Books accept your own DRM-free files, while Kindle keeps purchases in its own formats with no export path. Libro.fm is the only audiobook store we score that sells DRM-free files.
Trackers have no books to lock, so the question becomes data: StoryGraph, Goodreads and Hardcover all export, and Hardcover adds a public API. Recap and summary tools hold no books at all; Magic Bookmark works alongside a copy you already have, which is why its DRM row reads n/a.
How do you use it to pick an app in five minutes?
Decide your job first: borrowing free, buying to keep, renting a big catalog, tracking, or getting back into a book. Then filter. Borrowing free: Libby and Hoopla, both on iOS, Android and web. Buying to keep: Kobo or Apple Books for ebooks, Libro.fm for audio. Renting: Kindle+, Everand, Kobo Plus or Spotify hours, all with nothing kept. Tracking: StoryGraph or Hardcover if you care about export and openness, Goodreads if you need the crowd. Getting back into a book: Kindle's built-in recap features for Kindle ebooks, Magic Bookmark for supported titles in other formats on iPhone.
Then open the two or three survivors' reviews and read the catch line and the lock-in table. That is where the differences you will feel in a year are printed.
Why are some cells long and some short?
Because the honest answer is sometimes one word and sometimes a sentence. "Yes" for DRM on a library loan is complete. "Sideloaded and DRM-free files move freely; DRM titles do not" is the shortest true answer for Kobo. We would rather print the longer truth than a tidy checkmark that misleads.
What is not in the matrix?
Catalog size, because it changes weekly and the numbers companies publish are not comparable. Hands-on performance, because most scores on this site are flagged desk reviews until re-tested. And anything we could not confirm: where a cell says "not documented", we looked and the company did not say.
Generated from our review data. Each review prints its own checked date.
- Category:
- Library
- Platforms:
- iOS, Android, Web
- Formats:
- EPUB and Kindle-format loans, library audiobook streams
- DRM:
- Yes, on every loan; expiry is the mechanism
- Export path:
- None needed; notes are yours to copy out manually
- Offline:
- Full downloads for the loan period
- Price band:
- free
- Category:
- Audiobooks
- Platforms:
- iOS, Android, Web
- Formats:
- MP3 and M4B downloads
- DRM:
- None. The friendliest terms in paid audio
- Export path:
- Download the files and play them anywhere
- Offline:
- Yes, in the app or any player you like
- Price band:
- $$$
- Category:
- Ebooks
- Platforms:
- iOS, Android, Web, Desktop
- Formats:
- Kindle formats (AZW3, KFX); EPUB accepted via Send to Kindle conversion
- DRM:
- Yes on nearly all store purchases
- Export path:
- None for purchased titles; notes export as a summary file
- Offline:
- Yes, everywhere
- Price band:
- free app, paid store
- Category:
- Ebooks
- Platforms:
- iOS, Android, Web
- Formats:
- EPUB, PDF, CBZ and more; sideloading is welcome
- DRM:
- Varies by publisher; plenty of DRM-free titles
- Export path:
- Sideloaded and DRM-free files move freely; DRM titles do not
- Offline:
- Yes
- Price band:
- free app, paid store, Plus subscription
- Category:
- Library
- Platforms:
- iOS, Android, Web
- Formats:
- Streaming and time-limited downloads
- DRM:
- Yes; borrows expire on schedule
- Export path:
- None needed
- Offline:
- Downloads for the borrow window
- Price band:
- free
- Category:
- Trackers
- Platforms:
- iOS, Android, Web
- Formats:
- n/a (tracking service)
- DRM:
- n/a
- Export path:
- CSV export and Goodreads CSV import
- Offline:
- Limited
- Price band:
- free + $ Plus
- Category:
- Audiobooks
- Platforms:
- iOS, Android, Web, Alexa
- Formats:
- Audible's own audio formats only
- DRM:
- Yes on most titles
- Export path:
- None for purchased titles
- Offline:
- Yes, inside the Audible app
- Price band:
- $$$
- Category:
- Deals
- Platforms:
- iOS, Android, Web
- Formats:
- Streaming and downloads inside the Chirp app
- DRM:
- Yes, playback stays in the app
- Export path:
- None
- Offline:
- Yes, in-app downloads
- Price band:
- à-la-carte
- Category:
- Ebooks
- Platforms:
- iOS, iPadOS, macOS
- Formats:
- EPUB, including DRM-free files you add yourself, plus PDFs
- DRM:
- Yes on store purchases; sideloaded EPUBs stay open
- Export path:
- Sideloaded files move freely; purchases do not
- Offline:
- Yes
- Price band:
- free app, paid store
- Category:
- Habit
- Platforms:
- iOS, Android
- Formats:
- In-app installments of public domain texts
- DRM:
- None on the underlying texts; they are free everywhere
- Export path:
- Not needed; the same books are downloadable free elsewhere
- Offline:
- Yes
- Price band:
- free + $ one-time
- Category:
- Clubs
- Platforms:
- iOS, Android, Web
- Formats:
- In-app reading for titles bought through Fable; discussion is app-only
- DRM:
- Yes on in-app purchases
- Export path:
- None for discussion history
- Offline:
- Partial
- Price band:
- free + club/premium
- Category:
- Trackers
- Platforms:
- iOS, Android, Web
- Formats:
- n/a (tracking service)
- DRM:
- n/a
- Export path:
- Exports plus a public API, which is unusual and good
- Offline:
- Limited
- Price band:
- free + $
- Category:
- Subscription
- Platforms:
- Inside the Kindle app
- Formats:
- Kindle only
- DRM:
- Yes
- Export path:
- None
- Offline:
- Yes, on borrowed titles
- Price band:
- $$$
- Category:
- Trackers
- Platforms:
- iOS, Android, Web
- Formats:
- n/a (tracking service)
- DRM:
- n/a
- Export path:
- CSV export of your whole library, and it works
- Offline:
- Barely; the app expects a connection
- Price band:
- free
- Category:
- Audiobooks
- Platforms:
- iOS, Android, Web, Desktop
- Formats:
- Streaming only
- DRM:
- Yes; nothing leaves the app
- Export path:
- None
- Offline:
- Downloads inside the app while your plan is active
- Price band:
- included
- Category:
- Subscription
- Platforms:
- iOS, Android, Web
- Formats:
- In-app reading and listening only
- DRM:
- Yes
- Export path:
- None
- Offline:
- In-app downloads while subscribed
- Price band:
- $$$
- Category:
- Trackers
- Platforms:
- iOS, Android
- Formats:
- n/a (tracking service)
- DRM:
- n/a
- Export path:
- Exports on paid tiers
- Offline:
- Yes, sessions run offline
- Price band:
- $$
- Category:
- Summaries
- Platforms:
- iOS, Android, Web
- Formats:
- In-app text and audio summaries
- DRM:
- Yes
- Export path:
- Highlights export on paid tiers
- Offline:
- In-app downloads while subscribed
- Price band:
- $$$
- Category:
- Summaries
- Platforms:
- iOS, Android, Web
- Formats:
- In-app guides, text and audio
- DRM:
- Yes
- Export path:
- Highlight and note export
- Offline:
- In-app downloads while subscribed
- Price band:
- $$$
- Category:
- Recaps
- Platforms:
- iPhone (iOS 16.4 or later); Android on the roadmap
- Formats:
- None of its own: it works alongside your print, ebook, audiobook or library copy of a supported title
- DRM:
- n/a (it does not contain the book)
- Export path:
- No export feature documented on the App Store listing or website (checked 2026-10-27); not verified hands-on
- Offline:
- Not documented on the App Store listing or website (checked 2026-10-27)
- Price band:
- free app, per-book credits
Questions readers actually ask
- Which ebook apps let you export your books?
- Only files that are DRM-free. Kobo and Apple Books read your own DRM-free EPUBs, and Libro.fm sells DRM-free audiobooks. Kindle store purchases have no export path.
- Which book apps work on Android?
- Most do. The exceptions among apps we score are Apple Books (Apple devices only) and Magic Bookmark (iPhone only, Android on its roadmap).
- How often is this table updated?
- It is generated from our review data, so it updates whenever a review or price check changes. Each review prints its own checked date.