Libraries · alternatives
Alternatives to Hoopla
21 libraries tools sit alongside Hoopla in this directory. Below is what separates each from Hoopla on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 21
- With a free tier
- 14
- Cheaper to start
- -
- Hoopla starts at
- Free
Why people look past Hoopla
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Hoopla entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is only one tier
Hoopla publishes a single plan, Hoopla at Free. There is no smaller tier to drop to if the fit is wrong or the budget moves.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Free ebook and audiobook app from OverDrive, gated entirely on an active public library card
- Sold on a Free with a participating library card, no subscription model rather than Free with a participating library card, capped by monthly borrow limit.
Unlimited audiobook and ebook subscription, strong in Europe and Latin America, no library card needed
- No free tier, where Hoopla has one.
- Publishes an entry price of $14.99/month, where Hoopla does not.
- Sold on a Per user per month, unlimited model rather than Free with a participating library card, capped by monthly borrow limit.
Unlimited ebook, audiobook, magazine and sheet music subscription, the consumer reading service formerly called Scribd
- No free tier, where Hoopla has one.
- Publishes an entry price of $11.99/month, where Hoopla does not.
- Sold on a Per user per month, unlimited model rather than Free with a participating library card, capped by monthly borrow limit.
Open source C++ library and command line tool for point cloud translation and processing
- Sold on a Open source, no licence fee model rather than Free with a participating library card, capped by monthly borrow limit.
Python package for interactive geospatial mapping and analysis inside Jupyter notebooks
- Sold on a Open source, no licence fee model rather than Free with a participating library card, capped by monthly borrow limit.
React component library of over a hundred components with hooks, under the MIT licence
- Sold on a Open source, no licence fee model rather than Free with a participating library card, capped by monthly borrow limit.
Every Hoopla alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoopla (this page) | Free | Free with a participating library card, capped by monthly borrow limit | 1 | |
| LibbyIf you want unlimited borrowing with holds queues instead of a hard monthly cap | Free | Free with a participating library card, no subscription | 1 | vs Hoopla |
| StorytelIf you want unlimited audiobook and ebook access for a flat subscription with no library or monthly cap | $14.99/month | Per user per month, unlimited | 1 | vs Hoopla |
| EverandIf you want unlimited reading and listening without needing a library card at all | $11.99/month | Per user per month, unlimited | 1 | vs Hoopla |
| PDAL | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Hoopla |
| Leafmap | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Hoopla |
| Mantine | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Hoopla |
| Ant Design | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Hoopla |
| Vuetify | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Hoopla |
| daisyUI | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Hoopla |
| Base UI | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Hoopla |
| CollectiveAccess | Free | - | - | vs Hoopla |
| FOLIO | Free | Open-source | 2 | vs Hoopla |
| Koha | Free | Open-source | 2 | vs Hoopla |
| ArchivesSpace | Free, then $300/year | Subscription | 5 | vs Hoopla |
| DSpace | Free | Open-source | - | vs Hoopla |
| Omeka | Free | Open-source | - | vs Hoopla |
| Ex Libris Alma | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Hoopla |
| CONTENTdm | $1495/year | Subscription | 3 | vs Hoopla |
| LibraryThing for Libraries | $500/year | Subscription | 3 | vs Hoopla |
| OCLC WorldShare Management Services | On request | Subscription | 2 | vs Hoopla |
| SirsiDynix Symphony | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Hoopla |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Hoopla badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
What you would be giving up
Hoopla is most often brought in for a patron who wants to watch a specific movie or listen to an album tonight without waiting in a queue, a family wanting streaming video and music alongside books in one library-card app, a light-to-moderate reader whose habits fit comfortably inside a monthly borrow cap, someone using a roku or fire tv who wants library video content on the living room screen. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Hoopla is broadly right and the question is cost, the Hoopla pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Libraries category lists everything the directory holds, and best libraries tools ranks them.
Hoopla runs on ios, android, web, roku, amazon fire tv. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Hoopla alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Hoopla?
- 21 other libraries tools are listed in this directory, led by Libby, Storytel, Everand, PDAL. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Hoopla?
- 14 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Libby, PDAL, Leafmap, Mantine, Ant Design.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Hoopla?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is only one tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Hoopla?
- Hoopla is most often brought in for a patron who wants to watch a specific movie or listen to an album tonight without waiting in a queue, a family wanting streaming video and music alongside books in one library-card app, a light-to-moderate reader whose habits fit comfortably inside a monthly borrow cap, someone using a roku or fire tv who wants library video content on the living room screen. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Hoopla?
- FOLIO, Koha, DSpace, Omeka are recorded with an open-source licence model.
- How were these Hoopla alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Libraries, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Hoopla against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Hoopla covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every libraries tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Libraries category, 21 tools beside Hoopla. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.