LibriVox vs Prologue

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.

Prologue is a self-hosted audiobook player for Plex and Audiobookshelf libraries. It can connect to either service or both, with offline downloads, collections, series, bookmarks, a reading list, statistics, and playback history. Playback controls include per-book settings, sleep timers, smart rewind after pauses, Voice Boost, and an equalizer. The maker lists iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Siri, widgets, and CarPlay support, with macOS also listed as a platform. Apple Watch can stream books being read or on the reading list, download books for offline listening, and use widgets and complications. Prologue says library data remains on your devices and that it does not store or handle Plex or Audiobookshelf passwords; access tokens are stored on-device. It collects pseudonymous usage and Apple Ads attribution data, and uses Sentry for crash reports that may include device and operating-system details. The App Store listing requires iOS 26.5 or later and lists iPad, Mac with Apple M1 or later, Apple Vision, and Apple Watch compatibility.