Kobo Books vs Librera Reader

Kobo Books is a digital platform for buying and listening to audiobooks, with apps for iOS and Android and playback on select Kobo eReaders with Bluetooth. The mobile app lets listeners pause, fast-forward, rewind, and resume playback. Downloaded audiobooks can be played on a smartphone or tablet without an internet connection, and Bluetooth headphones or speakers can be used with the app. Kobo Plus Listen costs $7.99 a month after a 14-day free trial, plus applicable taxes. Kobo Plus Read & Listen costs $9.99 a month after the trial, plus applicable taxes. These subscriptions include audiobooks, or eBooks and audiobooks in the latter plan, but neither includes every title. Subscription credits also apply only to eligible audiobooks. Audiobooks cannot be played in the Kobo Desktop app or on a laptop or desktop computer. On iOS, audiobook purchases must be made through Kobo.com because the app does not support in-app purchases. Kobo Plus members can open up to 15 books offline in an eReader or app during a 30-day period before reconnecting and syncing. Kobo is based in Toronto and was founded in December 2009.

Librera Reader is an ebook and document reader for Android, with a browser-based reader and a macOS beta also listed. It opens formats including PDF, EPUB, MOBI, DjVu, FB2, TXT, RTF, AZW, AZW3, HTML, CBZ, and CBR. Readers can locate files by scanning folders, browsing with the in-app file explorer, or returning to recent items. Reading tools include bookmarks, annotations, text search, EPUB3 tables of contents, and adjustable Day and Night modes. Progress and bookmarks can sync between Android devices through Google Drive. The app also offers configurable text-to-speech with a built-in media player, online catalogs, cloud sources, and online and offline dictionaries. Access can be restricted with a password or the device’s fingerprint authentication. The free plan is ad-supported; Librera PRO removes ads and costs 5.99 USD once. The maker lists Kyiv, Ukraine as its headquarters.