LibriVox vs Playary
LibriVox
librivox.orgPlayary
playary.comSide by side
| Figure | LibriVox | Playary |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · Audiobook Apps | 8.5 (#3) | 8.0 (#13) |
| Founded | LibriVox was started in August 2005 by Hugh McGuire. | 2017 |
| Integrations | LibriVox describes third-party apps as unaffiliated and says it does not endorse them. | Playary may embed videos hosted on third-party platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo. |
| Offline listening | Users can download complete books or chapters and listen later without an internet connection. | Yes |
| Support | LibriVox says its forum is the best way to get in touch, with email also available. | Users can contact Playary by email, Discord community or the website contact form. |
| What it does | LibriVox volunteers record public-domain books and release the audio online for free. | Playary is a digital entertainment platform for music, audiobooks, podcasts, movies and series. |
Plans
In their own words
LibriVox
LibriVox is a free audiobook library built from volunteer recordings of public-domain books. Listeners can browse by author, title, genre or subject, and language, then play or download individual audio files, download a book ZIP, subscribe to RSS or use BitTorrent. Catalog pages provide 64 kbps and 128 kbps MP3 files, and most books also have an M4B option. Its podcast presents one book at a time in three audio installments per week. Recordings are accepted in all languages; volunteers need no prior experience or audition, just a voice, a computer and free recording software. The catalog API offers audiobook, track and author endpoints for apps that refresh catalog data. It returns 50 records by default, up to 500 per request, with offset batches for larger pulls. Recordings are donated to the public domain, though status can vary by country. LibriVox began in 2005 and is available on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web and Windows. The catalog can include older works with language or ideas some readers find offensive or antiquated.
Playary
Playary is a digital entertainment platform for music, audiobooks, podcasts, movies, and series. It is available on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web, and Windows, and currently supports Turkish and English. Playary says its service is free, with premium membership options possibly introduced later. Users can download content for playback without mobile data and create unlimited playlists to copy, share, or explore. Content controls include explicit-content filters and blocking for artists, albums, or songs. Podcast subscriptions can be imported or exported through OPML, though imports include only podcasts in Playary's catalog. The service supports video podcasts as well as audio and may embed videos hosted by services such as YouTube and Vimeo. Separate platforms let artists and podcasters upload and manage content. Playary says sensitive personal data is encrypted in transit with TLS and at rest, and describes role-based access controls and multi-factor authentication. Its terms require users to be at least 13 or meet the applicable digital-consent age unless parental consent applies.