The server and the app are separate choices
You’ve set up Audiobookshelf, added the books, sorted out the covers and made the server available outside the house. The next step is choosing how you want to listen on your phone.
The official mobile app is one option. SoundLeaf is another, developed independently for the same server. Both use your existing Audiobookshelf library and account. Installing SoundLeaf doesn’t mean uploading your collection to us, buying the books again or replacing the server you’ve just configured.
That separation is one of the good things about self-hosting. You can change the part you touch every day without starting over with the collection underneath it.
Getting an app onto your iPhone
The official iOS app is distributed through TestFlight as a beta, and its signup has been full. If you already have a place, you can use it with your server; if you’re setting up a new phone, availability may be the first practical obstacle.
SoundLeaf is available from the App Store. You can connect your server and use listening, manual downloads, the EPUB reader and podcast controls without a paid upgrade. That gives you a way to start using the library while keeping the option to try other clients later.
The official client is open source, so you can inspect its code or contribute to the project. SoundLeaf is proprietary. If an open-source client is a requirement for your setup, that difference is decisive, regardless of which player you prefer.
The full beta that started all this
A fun fact: SoundLeaf exists because, in 2025, my wife couldn’t join the Audiobookshelf iOS beta. It was full. She wanted to listen to her books; I somehow turned that into building an entire audiobook app. A perfectly proportionate response to a full signup page.
So, to the people who build and maintain Audiobookshelf: thank you. You made something that became part of our lives, and gave me the foundation to build SoundLeaf. I’m grateful for the work you put into it and the community around it. Whatever app you choose for your phone, Audiobookshelf is what makes all of this possible.
A library that belongs on the phone
SoundLeaf is built around a local library that syncs with Audiobookshelf. It keeps the book and episode information it receives, so the collection remains browsable when the server is out of reach. Audio needs to be downloaded for offline playback; once it is, losing the connection shouldn’t end the chapter.
That’s an important distinction for a server running at home. The machine may restart, the connection may drop, or you may simply be somewhere without reception. Your phone should still have useful things to show you, and your listening progress should make its way back when the connection returns.
Open a book and its chapters, ebook and listening history are together on the detail page.
Library offers separate views for Books, Series, Authors, Genres and Collections. Saved accounts keep their progress and downloads separate, which is useful when several people share a server. Settings also shows server reachability and ping, giving you something concrete to check when a connection needs attention.
Give the ebook a place beside the audio
If your audiobook has a matching EPUB, SoundLeaf can follow it with Read Along. The narrated words highlight and the pages advance while you listen. You can check a phrase, search the text or carry on reading when audio isn’t convenient.
The matching happens on your iPhone. It needs text that corresponds to the narration; a different edition or an abridged recording can interrupt it. The reader also works on its own, with separate choices for typography and page color.
This is part of the larger difference in choosing a client. The server holds the files. The app decides whether the ebook feels like an attachment or another way to enjoy the same book.
Podcasts deserve their own space
Audiobookshelf can hold podcasts as well as books. SoundLeaf gives those shows a dedicated home, queue and downloaded view, with settings for how each one behaves.
Keep a few recent episodes of a daily show, listen to a serial from the beginning, and use a different speed for a slow interview. Download limits, played-episode cleanup and queue placement can be set per show. When the publisher supplies a timed transcript, you can follow it and keep it with the downloaded audio.
Those choices let the app do more of the routine housekeeping. You can move from a book to a podcast without treating the podcast as an oddly shaped audiobook, or repeatedly fixing an episode order that doesn’t suit the show.
Choose the client you want to live with
The official app keeps you close to the open-source Audiobookshelf project. If you value that, enjoy contributing to a beta and already have access, it has a clear place.
SoundLeaf offers an App Store route into the same library, with Read Along, dedicated podcast controls, CarPlay, Watch listening and an offline-first approach. Themes continue through books, podcasts, the player and settings. The intention is that every part of the app feels cared for, including the screens you only visit occasionally.
You can find out whether that matters to you with the account you already have. Let your current app sync, download a familiar book in SoundLeaf, and use it through the next chapter. Your server stays yours either way.