Kobo Books vs Loyal Books

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.

Loyal Books offers free audiobooks and eBooks on the web, Android, and iOS. Its app page lists 7,000+ audiobooks and 35,000+ eBooks, with material including children’s books, fiction, and mysteries. Books are available in 25+ languages. The catalog includes public-domain works digitized and recorded by volunteers, most sourced from Gutenberg.org and Librivox.org; Loyal Books says all audiobooks on its website are in the public domain. It also offers best sellers. Audiobooks can be streamed or downloaded for offline listening, and playback speed is adjustable. Readers can browse featured books and top charts, and use reviews, ratings, and other discovery features. The website describes its browsing as primarily visual and screen reader friendly for people with vision disabilities. Its privacy policy says the service collects reviews, desktop or mobile preference cookies, and standard server logs, which it says are not shared outside the company. Google and its partners use tracking and third-party cookies to serve ads, and the site uses Google Analytics Advertising Features.