Kobo Books vs qView
Kobo Books
kobo.comqView
interversehq.comSide by side
| Figure | Kobo Books | qView |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $7.99/mo | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · File Reader Software | 8.1 (#10) | 7.4 (#16) |
| Support | Kobo says customers can get Kobo Plus help and troubleshooting through its Help Center. | The download page links to bug reporting, a Discord server, translation contributions, and nightly builds. |
Plans
In their own words
Kobo 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.
qView
qView is a free, open-source image viewer designed to keep the image prominent, with a title bar and no toolbar clutter. It supports common formats including BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG, TIFF, and WebP, as well as RAW images and color management. For browsing, it includes animated GIF controls, file history, rotation, mirroring, and multithreaded preloading. Preferences are configurable. The maker describes qView as quick to open and light on memory and CPU. It is based on Qt5 and licensed under GPLv3, with a listed price of free. Windows downloads include 64-bit installer, 32-bit, and standalone options; the installer requires Visual C++ 2015 or later. macOS options include a DMG for macOS 12 or later, a legacy download for macOS 10.13 or later, and Homebrew. Linux choices include distribution packages, AppImage, Flatpak, and a source tarball. The download page also links to bug reporting, Discord, translation contributions, and nightly builds.