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Scribd VS Archive.org

Compare Scribd VS Archive.org and see what are their differences

Scribd logo Scribd

Unlimited books, audiobooks & comics. Unparalleled discovery. Any device. $8.99/month

Archive.org logo Archive.org

Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library offering free universal access to books, movies...
  • Scribd Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-16
  • Archive.org Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-29

Scribd features and specs

  • Extensive Library
    Scribd offers a wide variety of content including books, audiobooks, magazines, and even documents from multiple genres.
  • Unlimited Access
    Subscribers get unlimited access to a rotating library of titles at a fixed monthly fee, allowing ample reading without purchasing each book individually.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The platform provides an easy-to-navigate interface with personalized recommendations and a customizable reading experience.
  • Cross-Device Syncing
    Scribd syncs your progress across devices, so you can start reading on your phone and continue on your tablet or computer seamlessly.
  • Offline Reading
    Users can download titles for offline reading, making it convenient for areas with limited internet access.

Possible disadvantages of Scribd

  • Rotating Library
    While Scribd offers unlimited access, some books may become unavailable over time due to the rotating nature of the library.
  • Limited Audiobook Selection
    Compared to dedicated audiobook services, Scribd's audiobook selection is not as extensive.
  • Regional Restrictions
    Certain books and content may not be available in all regions due to licensing agreements.
  • Monthly Fee
    Although comprehensive, Scribd does come with a monthly subscription fee, which might not be justifiable for infrequent readers.
  • Data Consumption
    Streaming or downloading large files such as audiobooks and high-resolution magazines can consume significant data, affecting users with limited internet plans.

Archive.org features and specs

  • Extensive Collection
    Archive.org hosts a vast amount of digitized materials including books, movies, music, and websites, providing comprehensive archival resources for education and research.
  • Free Access
    Most of the content on Archive.org is freely accessible to the public, making it a valuable resource for individuals and institutions lacking the budget for paid resources.
  • Wayback Machine
    The Wayback Machine allows users to view archived versions of websites as they appeared at various times in the past, preserving digital history and providing a useful tool for research.
  • PDF and ePub Formats
    Many of the books and texts available on Archive.org can be downloaded in multiple formats, such as PDF and ePub, enhancing accessibility and ease of use.
  • Community Uploads
    Archive.org allows users to upload their own content, fostering a community-driven archive that continuously grows with user-contributed material.

Possible disadvantages of Archive.org

  • Copyright Issues
    Some materials on Archive.org may have unclear or disputed copyright statuses, leading to potential legal issues and the removal of content.
  • Quality Inconsistency
    The quality of scanned materials can vary significantly, with some items having poor resolution or other issues that make them difficult to read or use effectively.
  • Search Functionality
    The search engine on Archive.org can sometimes be less effective, making it difficult for users to find specific materials or navigate the extensive collections easily.
  • Storage and Bandwidth Limits
    While Archive.org offers free uploads, there are limits on storage and bandwidth for users, which may constrain those with large archives to share.
  • Long Loading Times
    The site can experience long loading times, especially for larger files or during periods of high traffic, which can hinder the user experience.

Analysis of Archive.org

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Archive.org is considered good due to its significant contribution to preserving digital history and providing open access to a wide range of resources. Its efforts in promoting free access to knowledge align with educational and cultural preservation values.

Why this product is good

  • Archive.org, also known as the Internet Archive, is considered a valuable resource because it provides access to extensive historical data, media, and web pages through platforms like the Wayback Machine. It preserves the cultural and digital heritage of the internet, offering free access to a vast collection of books, music, software, and more. It's an essential tool for researchers, historians, and the general public who are interested in exploring or referencing past content that may no longer be available online.

Recommended for

  • Researchers looking for historical web data and information.
  • Students and educators seeking free access to a library of digital content.
  • Journalists and historians interested in past media or events.
  • Anyone interested in accessing or preserving digital media and cultural artifacts.

Scribd videos

Is Scribd Worth It?

More videos:

  • Review - Scribd Review
  • Review - Audible vs Kindle Unlimited vs Scribd Review (and why I switched)

Archive.org videos

The Internet Archive Wants To Be A Digital Library For Everything | Sunday TODAY

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to use the Internet Archive
  • Review - Book Publishers are Trying to Shut Down the Internet Archive

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Scribd and Archive.org)
Digital Publishing
100 100%
0% 0
Ebooks
4 4%
96% 96
eBook Reader
11 11%
89% 89
Productivity
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Scribd and Archive.org

Scribd Reviews

10 of the Best Ebook Readers for Windows, macOS, and Mobile
The reader itself is gorgeous to use and is available on iOS and Android. It’s a bright and modern app that includes a host of options to help you read content from the community. It’s not as in depth with regards to features as other solutions, but like Scribd, the experience trumps all.
Top 25 SlideShare Alternatives To Create & Share Online Presentations
With over 80million monthly active readers Scribd is the world’s most popular open platform for publishing and sharing documents of all types. You can upload your academic or business presentations to Scribd for free and share with anyone. Yes, you can embed your Scribd documents on your own website too.
Source: slidehelper.com
17 Powerful Issuu Alternatives Nobody Told You About (1 BIG winner)
When looking at the costs, Scribd is cheaper, so for anyone publishing a paid for magazine, it could be a consideration. However, the possibility to share isn’t there, and you can’t embed your publications on your website, although it is quite straightforward to load to services like Behance. But, if you are looking for something with an Issuu like PDF viewer, Scribd is not...

Archive.org Reviews

Top 30 Best Movie4u Alternatives To Watch Latest Movies
Are you a fan of old-time media productions? Well, The Internet Archive is the movie site for you if you want to watch movies. There are no distribution rights needed for any of the movies on the site because they are all in the public domain. However, if you want to see the newest summer movie, the Internet Archive doesn’t have anything for you. If you like old movies, give...
9 Best Free Music Download Sites in 2022
The Archive provides not only thousands of free music, but also audio books and programs, and its database contains more than one million free digital files. You can filter the results by title, date, collection, creator, language and other criteria to find the music you want. The platform includes major global songs from Ed Sheeran and John Mayer. Most of the files on the...
Top 10 Best Google Search Engine Alternative List of 2019
Internet Archive is one of the favorite destinations for longtime web lovers. It is a collection of important data, online history, metrics, and a wealth of information.
14 Great Search Engines You Can Use Instead of Google
Essentially, the Internet Archive is a vast online library where you can access just about anything you could imagine.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Archive.org seems to be a lot more popular than Scribd. While we know about 8515 links to Archive.org, we've tracked only 54 mentions of Scribd. 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.

Scribd mentions (54)

  • “Manitoba Affidavit” 1870
    If you go to https://scribd.com and enter search term Lawrence Barkwell + Métis and change results to documents/articles, all of his 2,000+ research papers are there. He was the historian for the Louis Riel Institute and Gabriel Dumont Institute for over 20 years. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Complete plans for a 2-storey residential Building
    Look on scribd.com. They have several plan sets for residential structural buildings. Source: over 1 year ago
  • whats your opinion on elvis as an actor?
    Jerry Schilling speaks to this in his book, "Me and a Guy Named Elvis." Highly recommend this audiobook available for free on a trial basis at scribd.com. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • whats your opinion on elvis as an actor?
    There are several Elvis ebooks and audiobooks you can access for free with a 30-day trial at scribd.com. Registration requires a credit card but you can cancel before the first payment. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • f*cking scribd amex offers
    Get a $6 statement credit by using your enrolled eligible Card to make a single purchase of $11.99 or more online at scribd.com by 10/31/2023. Limit of 5 statement credits (total of $30). See terms. Source: about 2 years ago
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Archive.org mentions (8515)

  • I'm Wirecutter's Water-Quality Expert. I Don't Filter My Water
    If you'd like, use Wayback https://archive.org/ to show reviews from the per-aquisiton days. Notably, they would consistently recommend electronics and even things like dishware that would be sourced exclusively from Amazon over superior products sold directly through the manufacturer or other private-brand retail sites. I have zero issues with affiliate marketing, but I have huge issues when those... - Source: Hacker News / 6 days ago
  • Creating self-healing spiders with Scrapling in Python without AI (Web Scraping)
    To solve this issue, I will use The Web Archive's Wayback Machine. Here is a copy of StackOverFlow's website in 2010; pretty old, eh? - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Doge staffer's YouTube nickname accidentally revealed his teen hacking activity
    > Why do so many journos keep making these politically motivated articles. Because a bunch of journalists were being paid by the government to be politically-motivated propagandists, and that gravy train went away because of Doge. There's a ton of threads on HN about Doge, but if you search with "site:news.ycombinator.com Internews Network".....only 1 result, in the comments. from:... - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • Archive Team
    No apparent relation to https://archive.org? - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
  • Ask HN: Where would you publish content that should outlive you?
    How tech change in just 40 years. https://xkcd.com/1909/ I also use .github.io and https://archive.org/ (offline at the moment) See also https://archiveprogram.github.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Scribd and Archive.org, you can also consider the following products

Issuu - Issuu is the leading digital publishing platform delivering exceptional reading experiences of magazines, catalogs, and newspapers.

Archive.md - archive.is allows you to create a copy of a webpage that will always be up even if the original link is down

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

12 Foot Ladder - Prepend 12ft.io/ to the URL of any paywalled page, and we'll try our best to remove the paywall and get you access to the article.

SlideShare - Discover, Share, and Present presentations and infographics with the world’s largest professional content sharing community.

Wayback Machine - Browse through over 150 billion web pages archived from 1996 to a few months ago.