Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Google Play Books VS Moon Reader

Compare Google Play Books VS Moon Reader and see what are their differences

Google Play Books logo Google Play Books

Google Play Books lets you search, preview, and buy millions of books using Google Book Search.

Moon Reader logo Moon Reader

Innovative book reader with powerful controls & full functions
  • Google Play Books Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-10-10
  • Moon Reader Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-19

Google Play Books features and specs

  • Extensive Library
    Google Play Books offers a vast collection of books, including bestsellers, new releases, classics, and niche genres.
  • Cross-Platform Accessibility
    Books purchased can be accessed on multiple devices including smartphones, tablets, and computers, ensuring a seamless reading experience.
  • Offline Reading
    Users can download books for offline reading, which is convenient for travel or areas with poor internet connectivity.
  • Integration with Google Services
    Google Play Books integrates well with other Google services, allowing easy syncing and access via a Google account.
  • Customizable Reading Experience
    Offers various reading modes and customizable settings including font size, type, and background color to enhance user comfort.

Possible disadvantages of Google Play Books

  • Limited International Availability
    Some books and features may not be available in all countries, restricting access for international users.
  • Potential DRM Limitations
    Digital Rights Management (DRM) can limit the ability to share or transfer books between different platforms and devices.
  • Higher Cost
    No subscription model is available; books must be purchased individually, which can be more expensive compared to subscription-based services.
  • User Interface Complexity
    Some users may find the interface less intuitive compared to more straightforward e-reader applications.
  • Dependence on Google Ecosystem
    The service works best within the Google ecosystem, which may not be ideal for users heavily invested in other platforms.

Moon Reader features and specs

  • Customizable Reading Settings
    Moon Reader allows significant customization of reading settings, including font type, font size, background color, and line spacing. This helps users create a comfortable reading experience tailored to their preferences.
  • Supports Various Formats
    The app supports a wide range of eBook formats, such as EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more, providing flexibility in reading different types of digital content.
  • Built-in Dictionary and Translator
    Moon Reader integrates with dictionaries and translation services, allowing users to look up definitions or translations without leaving the app.
  • Sync Across Devices
    With the use of cloud services like Dropbox, Moon Reader can synchronize reading progress, bookmarks, and notes across multiple devices.
  • Advanced Features
    The app offers advanced features such as text-to-speech, annotations, and highlighting, which enhance the reading experience and utility.

Possible disadvantages of Moon Reader

  • Advertisements in Free Version
    Users of the free version of Moon Reader are subjected to advertisements, which can disrupt the reading experience.
  • Complex User Interface
    The app's interface can be overwhelming for new users due to the multitude of features and settings offered, leading to a steeper learning curve.
  • Premium Features Locked
    Some of the advanced features, such as the text-to-speech and certain customization options, are locked behind a paywall, requiring users to purchase the Pro version.
  • Limited Customer Support
    Some users have reported limited customer support options, making it difficult to resolve issues or get assistance when needed.
  • Requires Internet for Some Features
    Certain features, like cloud synchronization and dictionary/translator access, require an internet connection, which may not always be available for all users.

Analysis of Google Play Books

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Google Play Books is a good option for people looking for a flexible and extensive digital library with easy access and user-friendly features.

Why this product is good

  • Google Play Books is considered a good platform because it offers a vast collection of ebooks and audiobooks, allowing users to access a wide variety of genres and authors. It has a user-friendly interface that syncs across devices, enabling seamless switching between reading on different platforms. Google Play Books also provides features like note-taking, text highlighting, and adjustable reading modes, enhancing the reading experience.

Recommended for

    Google Play Books is recommended for avid readers who enjoy digital formats and want access to a broad selection of books across different genres. It's also suitable for people who prefer reading across multiple devices and those who appreciate customizable reading settings.

Google Play Books videos

Google Play Books Review | Is Publishing on Google Play Worth It?

More videos:

  • Review - Google Play Books for Android Review
  • Review - Pros and Cons of Google Play Books

Moon Reader videos

Moon Reader for Android: App Review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Google Play Books and Moon Reader)
eBook Reader
81 81%
19% 19
Ebooks
79 79%
21% 21
eBook Manager
72 72%
28% 28
Books & Reference
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Google Play Books seems to be a lot more popular than Moon Reader. While we know about 108 links to Google Play Books, we've tracked only 4 mentions of Moon Reader. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Google Play Books mentions (108)

  • How a Cable Changed Finance
    You also will find a ton of contemporary (and copyright free) books on https://books.google.com/ in many languages, which I find way more amazing to read today than books looking back on that time with today's mindset and all... A favorite of mine is "Lebenserinnerungen", by Werner von Siemens, 1892: https://www.google.ch/books/edition/Lebenserinnerungen/SkIOAAAAYAAJ It's a lovely topic to dive into and adjust... - Source: Hacker News / 12 months ago
  • Google scrambles to manually remove weird AI answers in search
    > The fact is that I think that there is not much written word, to actually train a sensible model on. A lot of books don't have OCRed scans, or a digital version. https://books.google.com/. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Tell HN: Correct Result for "Google Books" in Bing but Not in Google
    Searching for "google books" in google leads to https://books.google.com/ which no longer allows you to read any of your books. https://play.google.com/books is the site to read your purchased books now. Google search does not show https://play.google.com/books in its results at all. Thought it was some weird personalization quirk, but seems others have had the same issue:... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Engineer Bob Novak talks about UFO propulsion and anti-gravity in a 1963 recording
    Please use google https://google.com , https://groups.google.com , news.google.com/newspapers, books.google.com, scholar.google.com , https://archive.org https://yandex.com (the only image reverse search which actually works, google's got broken). Source: over 1 year ago
  • Google Only Giving Book Results After Update
    I have no idea why, but ever since this new update, Chrome has become completely unusable. Every single search I make only retrieves books.google.com links. Nothing near relevant to what I want. I am not sure how to fix this issue. All help is greatly appreciated! Source: over 1 year ago
View more

Moon Reader mentions (4)

  • ElevenReader by ElevenLabs
    I have used Moon+ Reader [1] for years with the build-in Android TTS service. It works very well, is free, and sounds good enough for me. 1: https://moondownload.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Best Ebook (PDF/EPUB) reader app for Xperia?
    Been using moon reader for a long while. http://moondownload.com/. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Standard Ebooks
    I've been using MoonReader (https://moondownload.com/) for years now and it's great, with an integration with the Gutenberg project. I also love the gestual shortcuts to control brightness, and the treasure thrive of options. The "advanced ebook" is not displaying the cover, I'll reach to the dev, but the compatible version is ok. - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
  • Best epub and PDF reader out there?
    Supports cross platform note-taking. What I mean is that if I highlight some stuff in the pdf in windows software, and then move the pdf on android and open it with Moon+ Reader, I will still be able to see the highlighted texts, notes and will be able to edit them. Source: about 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Google Play Books and Moon Reader, you can also consider the following products

Amazon Kindle - Amazon Kindle software lets you read ebooks on your Kindle, iPhone, iPad, PC, Mac, BlackBerry, and...

calibre - Ebook manager, viewer & converter

FBReader - FBReader is an e-book reader for various platforms. Features:

ReadEra - Read book files in EPUB, PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, TXT, DJVU, FB2, MOBI and CHM formats.

Cool Reader - Fast and small cross-platform eBook reader for desktops and handheld devices

Archive.org - Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library offering free universal access to books, movies...