Bookmate vs Sora

Bookmate is a subscription service for reading electronic books and listening to audiobooks, available on Android, iOS, and the web. Its catalog lists 1,800,000 books and 100,000 audiobooks in 16 languages, and it describes a free collection of 50,000 books. Readers can upload their own FB2 or EPUB files for use on a smartphone, tablet, or desktop, then adjust brightness, font, and background color. Social features let users follow friends’ reading, share books and quotes, and create or subscribe to themed bookshelves. Audiobooks can be saved for offline listening and synchronized across devices so listeners can resume where they left off. Bookmate lists a free plan and a seven-day trial; the Premium plan is listed at free. The subscription page describes monthly and annual options but does not show their prices. An account is limited to one person and no more than three devices. Books cannot be downloaded and distributed outside Bookmate.

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.