AudiobooksNow vs Sora

AudiobooksNow lets customers buy audiobooks individually or join an optional Club Pricing Plan for discounts. Purchased titles remain in a customer’s library without an active plan. The service lists a catalog of over 480,000 audiobooks and supports listening on the web, Android, and iOS. Customers can stream on the website or download purchases; the help center says over 95% of titles are DRM-free and available as MP3 files, while some titles require DRM and are limited to app or website streaming. Bookmarks sync across listening locations, and fully downloaded audiobooks can be played offline after signing into the app. Free Android and iOS apps are listed, with Android Auto and CarPlay support respectively. Monthly Club Pricing costs $4.99 a month after a 30-day free trial and discounts the first audiobook each month by 50%, with 35–40% off other eligible titles. Annual Club Pricing costs $35.99 a year and discounts any 12 audiobooks by 50%, with 35–40% off other titles. Club enrollment and Club Price purchases are unavailable in the Apple iOS app but can be completed on the website. AudiobooksNow says it is available worldwide, though title availability can vary by country.

Sora is a free student reading app for borrowing and reading digital books and other school-provided content. Depending on a school’s collection, students may find ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, and comics. They locate their school or enter its setup code, then sign in with student credentials. Reading tools include holds, samples, lists, notes, highlights, statistics, goals, and achievements. Books can download over Wi-Fi for offline use; mobile readers can stream until they are on Wi-Fi. Students may add a public library and borrow with a library card where available, though account type can affect which books are visible. Most borrowed ebooks can be sent to Kindle only at U.S. schools. Teachers can assign books to classes or individual students and use adjustable text, a dyslexic font, and accessibility and vocabulary support. Sora runs on iOS, Android, Chromebooks with Google Play, and web browsers, and works with Google Classroom, ClassLink, and Schoology. Its free plan is free, with available titles determined by the school’s collection.