Does BookPlayer work with Audiobookshelf?
Yes, as a place to get books from. In BookPlayer 5.22.2, the App Store version on October 18, 2026, you sign in to your Audiobookshelf server, browse your libraries, and pick books to download. BookPlayer copies them into its own library and plays them like any other audiobook file.
What it doesn’t do in that version is keep your place on the server. We read its public code for 5.22.2, and we found no step that sends your listening position back to Audiobookshelf. So if you listen in BookPlayer, the server won’t know how far you got, and the web player or another app that syncs with Audiobookshelf won’t pick up where you left off. BookPlayer has its own Cloud Sync for moving your place between your devices, but that is separate from your Audiobookshelf server.
Why BookPlayer works this way
BookPlayer describes itself as a player “for your DRM-free audiobooks”, meaning audiobook files without copy protection. It’s built around files: you bring them in with AirDrop, from the Files app, from a zip file, or from an Audiobookshelf or Jellyfin server. Once a book is in, it’s yours to sort, rename and add to playlists.
That’s a good fit if your books come from more than one place, or you don’t run Audiobookshelf at all. BookPlayer is open source (its code is on GitHub), and its listing includes CarPlay, an Apple Watch app that can play on its own, VoiceOver support, smart rewind and volume boost.
What’s coming in BookPlayer
When we checked on October 18, 2026, BookPlayer’s public code had a newer version, tagged 6.0.0. In that code, BookPlayer sends your listening position back to Audiobookshelf, and subscribers can stream books from the server instead of downloading them. It wasn’t on the App Store when we checked, so check BookPlayer’s release notes for what has shipped.
How SoundLeaf works with Audiobookshelf
SoundLeaf is made only for Audiobookshelf. It shows your whole library as it is on the server: books, series, authors, collections and podcasts. You can stream a book or download it.
Your place goes to the server about every 10 seconds while a book plays. If the server can’t be reached, SoundLeaf keeps your listening on the phone and sends it once the server is back. Once your progress has synced, the same book picks up where you stopped on another phone, the web player or another app signed in to the same Audiobookshelf account. See how progress sync works.
SoundLeaf can’t play files that aren’t on your Audiobookshelf server. If you want to add books from AirDrop or the Files app, BookPlayer is the better choice.
Can SoundLeaf read ebooks and play podcasts?
Yes. SoundLeaf reads the matching ebook next to your audiobook, if it’s an EPUB file. With the audio and the EPUB downloaded, Read Along highlights the words as the narrator says them, using speech recognition on your phone. It also plays the podcasts in your Audiobookshelf library, with settings for each show.
BookPlayer’s listing is about audio files. We didn’t find ebook reading or Audiobookshelf podcasts in its listing, so we’ve left those out rather than guess.
How much do BookPlayer and SoundLeaf cost?
Prices here are from the US App Store on October 18, 2026, and can differ in other countries. BookPlayer is free, with an optional Pro subscription listed at US$4.99 a month or US$49.99 a year, plus tips.
SoundLeaf is free to use, downloads included. Pro is a one-time US$9.99 purchase that adds themes and app icons, and Supporter is an optional way to help. Free, Pro and Supporter lists what each one adds.
Moving from BookPlayer to SoundLeaf
Books you listened to in BookPlayer 5.22.2 won’t show that progress on the server. Before you switch, note where you are in the books you’re in the middle of. In SoundLeaf, open each one and move to that spot, and from then on SoundLeaf keeps the server up to date.
If you got your books from Audiobookshelf, they’re already on the server, so there’s nothing to move. Books you added to BookPlayer another way, such as with AirDrop, need to go into your Audiobookshelf library first, because SoundLeaf only plays what’s on the server.