Libbyvs
Hoopla
Hoopla: If you want instant borrowing with no holds queue, capped by a monthly limit instead
Libby
Free ebook and audiobook app from OverDrive, gated entirely on an active public library card
As of 1 September 2026, Libby is free to use. The app millions of library users borrow ebooks and audiobooks through, at no cost, but it is not a subscription service at all: every book is a licensed copy your library owns or leases, and popular titles carry a holds queue exactly like physical copies do. Softwr lists it under Libraries. Libby is made by OverDrive, Inc., available on iOS, Android, Web, Kindle (for ebooks).
Overview
What Libby does
Libby is built by OverDrive and is the consumer-facing app for borrowing ebooks, audiobooks and some magazines from participating public and school libraries. There is no Libby subscription; access requires a valid library card number or PIN from a library that has bought into the OverDrive/Libby system, and the app then shows the actual catalogue of that library. The mechanic that defines it, and that separates it entirely from Storytel or Everand, is licensing scarcity. Libraries buy or licence a limited number of digital copies of each title, so a popular new release behaves like a physical book: if all copies are checked out, you join a holds queue and wait, sometimes for weeks or months. Libraries can also cap how many titles you borrow at once and how many holds you can place, per their own policies, not a universal Libby rule. Buyers are, functionally, anyone with a library card and patience for queues, which is the trade-off against a paid unlimited-ish service. Libby is free and the catalogue is broad and often includes bestsellers a subscription service might not license at all, but availability is unpredictable and out of the control of the reader, unlike Hoopla, which uses per-library borrow limits instead of queues.
What people use it for
- A reader who wants free access to bestsellers and is willing to wait weeks in a holds queue for popular new releases
- Someone who holds cards for multiple library systems and wants to widen their available catalogue in one app
- A reader who wants ebooks sent directly to a Kindle without buying them
- A budget-conscious reader who already pays library taxes and wants to use the benefit fully instead of also paying for Everand or Storytel
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Libby.
- Popular and new titles are frequently unavailable for weeks or months due to holds queues, which makes it unreliable for reading something the day you want to start it.
- Borrow and hold limits are set per library, so the experience is inconsistent between library systems and can change without notice.
- Not every library subscribes to OverDrive, and even those that do vary hugely in how many digital copies of any given title they can afford to licence.
- It requires a real library card tied to residency or another eligibility rule in most systems, so it is not available to everyone regardless of willingness to pay.
- There is no offline bulk downloading beyond what is borrowed, and loan periods expire automatically, returning the book whether or not you finished it.
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Libby
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- LibbyvsStorytel
Storytel: If you want an unlimited paid subscription instead of licence-scarce library borrowing
- LibbyvsEverand
Everand: If you want unlimited reading and listening for a flat monthly fee without needing a library card
Pricing
What Libby costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Libby
Free
- Free with an eligible library card
- Borrow limits set by your library, not Libby
- Holds queues on licensed copies
Capabilities
Features
Library card authentication
Access tied to a real library card number, not a Libby account you pay for
Holds queues
Wait-list system for licensed copies when all current copies are checked out
Multi-library support
One app can hold cards for several libraries at once, widening the effective catalogue
OverDrive Read and Listen
In-app ebook and audiobook reading and listening, no separate app needed
Send to Kindle
Ebook borrows can be sent to a Kindle device for reading there
Tags and shelves
Personal organisation of borrowed and wish-listed titles
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
Do I pay for Libby?
No, it is free, but you need an active card from a library that uses the OverDrive/Libby system.
Why is the book I want unavailable?
Libraries licence a limited number of digital copies, so popular titles go into a holds queue just like physical books.
Can I use Libby without a library card?
No, a valid card and PIN from a participating library are required for every feature.
Keep looking
Where to go from Libby
- Libby alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Libby pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Libby badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Libraries softwareThe full category
- Best Libraries softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Libraries software for
Compare Libby with
- Hoopla
- PDAL
- Leafmap
- daisyUI
- Vuetify
- VuFind
- ArchivesSpace
- CONTENTdm
- Omeka
- DSpace
- CollectiveAccess
- Evergreen ILS
- Ex Libris Alma
- FOLIO
- LibraryThing for Libraries
- Mantine
- Leafmap
- daisyUI
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Libby, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Libby
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Compare Libby
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Libby badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
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