Kobo Books vs Sora

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.

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.