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• Hoopla vs Libby: Pros, Cons, and Key Differences in 2025

Hoopla vs Libby: Pros, Cons, and Key Differences in 2025

Hoopla and Libby offer valuable supplementary online reading resources to students across various grade levels. As an experienced ELA teacher, I’ve compared Hoopla vs Libby based on their features, pricing, and customer reviews to help you choose the best app for your family. Meanwhile, digital education materials work significantly better when combined with 1:1, personalized tutoring, like Brighterly.

Key points

• Hoopla provides free, immediate access to diverse library resources, such as audiobooks, eBooks, movies, TV shows, and music, to build reading skills and help with other school subjects.
• Libby is limited to audiobooks, eBooks, and magazines but offers a wider range of new titles for your child to practice reading outside the classroom.
• Brighterly is different from Hoopla and Libby as it offers 1:1, individualized reading tutoring, though it’s a great addition to free learning resources for unmatched academic progress.

Libby vs Hoopla comparison: Quick overview

While Libby and Hoopla both provide families with online educational resources typically available at libraries, the main difference is that Hoopla offers instant access within a monthly limit, and Libby operates on a wait-list-based principle. Also, Hoopla works with more content types and media formats, giving students access to more resources to enrich the learning process.

	Hoopla	Libby
Best for	Supplemental learning through media across different academic subjects	Developing reading schools through grade-appropriate practice
Access	Through a library card	Through a library card
Content types	Audiobooks eBooks Comics Magazines Movies TV shows Music	Audiobooks eBooks Magazines
Check-out limits	❌	Depends on your library
Monthly limits	Depends on your library	❌
Loan periods	21 days for audiobooks, eBooks & comics 3 days for movies & TV shows	Up to 21 days
Holds/wait lists	❌	✅
Device & operating system compatibility	Apple TV 4th gen+ Apple CarPlay iOS 15+ Android 7.1+ Chromecast Android Auto Amazon Fire tablet (not Kindle) Windows 7+ MacOS 11+	iOS 10+ Android 7.1+ Newer Amazon Fire tablets

Can you use Libby and Hoopla at the same time?

You can use Hoopla and Libby at the same time as long as your libraries subscribe to both platforms. These are two different digital library services that can be used independently of each other. For instance, you can be reading an eBook for school on Libby while listening to kids’ math songs on Hoopla.

Hoopla and Libby: What additional value can Brighterly bring?

A Hoopla vs. Libby analysis shows that both can provide value to students and their parents, but the value offered by Brighterly 1:1 reading lessons is unique and incomparably higher. Working in real time with a Brighterly reading tutor significantly boosts the outcomes of unguided and unassisted reading practice delivered by Hoopla and Libby.

Let’s take a look at the features of the Brighterly reading program that make it the best online platform for gaining reading fluency.

Personalized reading plan

First and foremost, when comparing Libby vs Hoopla vs Brighterly, the last one stands out with the 1:1, synchronous, online tutoring that it provides to students in grades 1-9. Research proves time and again that 1:1 reading tutoring has tremendous benefits for young learners, including those with learning disabilities.

Upon enrollment, kids get a free comprehensive assessment to evaluate their level, strengths, and weaknesses, after which tutors prepare a customized reading learning plan. It takes into account not only the child’s skills but also their interests to spike curiosity, develop love for reading, and deliver solid, long-term effects. The individualized learning path helps teach reading skills even to children with ADHD.

It’s important to note that the Brighterly reading program is entirely aligned with the Common Core State Standards to ensure nationwide compliance.

🌟Watch the video below to see what makes the Brighterly approach so effective in developing reading speed and comprehension skills among students.

Top-notch reading tutors

The second feature that makes Brighterly a more successful reading aid than both Hoopla and Libby is the face-to-face interaction with qualified reading teachers. All tutors hold a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree and 5+ years of experience in supporting students in building reading fluency.

On top of that, Brighterly tutors are trained to work with children with diverse learning styles and preferences. They know how to make sessions engaging and fun, which enhances skills development and retention in the long term. You can take a look at Brighterly reviews by parents on Trustpilot to confirm how effective the methodology is.

Fair price and free practice resources

Finally, Brighterly reading tutoring is offered at an affordable price that starts as low as $17.30/lesson with an annual subscription for 3 classes/week. This means that children can take as many lessons as they need to bring their skills to the desired level.

Additionally, similar to Libby and Hoopla, Brighterly offers a myriad of free educational materials for students. First, children can take free reading tests to check their initial level before starting tutoring. After that, they can test their progress to keep track of advancement. Additionally, Brighterly tutors provide parents with continuous feedback as well as formal monthly progress reports.

Second, Brighterly has free reading worksheets that students can use on their own to practice the skills they develop during tutoring sessions and to continue the learning process. Unlike most Hoopla vs Libby books, these worksheets are organized by grade level and target the specific knowledge expected in each year of school.

Hoopla vs Libby: What does Hoopla stand out with?

• Immediate access to thousands of online learning resources
• Diverse content and media formats to support studying various school subjects across grade levels
• Entertaining educational materials to keep students engaged

How does Hoopla work?

Hoopla provides students and other library patrons with online access to the resources available at their public or county library, from anywhere. All you need is your library card and to make sure that your library is subscribed to the Hoopla service. The availability of resources and loan terms depends on your library’s account.

My Libby vs Hoopla comparison shows that the latter gives access to many more types of content, including not only audiobooks, eBooks, and magazines but also comics, movies, TV shows, and music. This means you can use the app to help your child catch up with the grade-level standards according to the latest official reading statistics.

The Hoopla app works on many different devices and operating systems, so children can use it on their desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. It’s available through the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Amazon Appstore. Most titles can be downloaded on a device for offline access, too.

Does Hoopla cost money?

Hoopla is free for individuals. All you need is library cards. This is an important consideration when choosing between the Libby app vs Hoopla platform for your child.

Libby vs Hoopla: What is Libby best at?

• Endless digital reading resources to improve reading comprehension
• Educational magazines to bring fun to learning
• Reading practice without limits per month

How does Libby work?

Libby, developed by the OverDrive business, is a library reading app that can be used to read or listen to different types of resources entirely online. A Hoopla vs Libby comparison shows that the two are actually very similar, as all a child needs to access texts via Libby is their library card from a participating public institution.

A closer look actually reveals some important Libby vs Hoopla differences. Most significantly, Libby provides access to audiobooks, eBooks, and magazines only, which makes it a potentially useful platform for increasing reading speed through practice outside the classroom. Meanwhile, Hoopla resources are more diverse.

Like Hoopla, Libby can be downloaded on various devices with different operating systems. It can be obtained from the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Amazon Appstore. Another similarity that transpires in my Hoopla app vs Libby comparison is that students can download audiobooks and eBooks to work on their reading fluency off the internet.

When we juxtapose access to Hoopla vs Libby audiobooks, it’s important to highlight that the former provides instant access (as long as you haven’t reached your monthly limits), while the latter might put you on a wait list in case another library patron is currently using the book you’re requesting. In this way, Hoopla offers a lot more comfort and value, whereas Libby feels a bit like a traditional library in terms of availability of copies.

How much is Libby?

Libby doesn’t cost anything to individual library patrons. The cost is covered by libraries, so students don’t need to pay money for access to reading materials. This makes it a cost-efficient option even for families facing a difficult financial situation.

Hoopla vs Libby cost: Which one is more affordable?

From parents’ point of view, the Hoopla vs Libby cost is the same – zero dollars. Subscription to the apps comes through membership at a local library.

Libby and Hoopla Reddit & Trustpilot reviews

• Hoopla reviews
• Libby reviews

Hoopla reviews: What parents say

While there are no reviews of Hoopla on Trustpilot, Reddit users share a mix of positive and negative thoughts. That’s why I dug deep into Libby vs Hoopla Reddit reviews to uncover what customers love and have about each app.

Hoopla: Users’ favorites

• Excellent library of older books
• Instant access to reading resources
• Ability to benefit from other materials, such as movies, shows, and music

“Hoopla is a great resource for books that are older or less popular and therefore not as likely to be purchased by a library for Libby.” – Reddit review

“I use hoopla for books I don’t want to wait for.” – Reddit review

“Hoopla is better for music, movies, and comics.” – Reddit review

Hoopla: What users dislike

• Limited collection of new books
• Monthly checkout limits
• Technical glitches that negatively affect the user experience

“Hoopla is like the bookstore on main street that has been there forever. They are gonna have some old cool stuff, but not really the new stuff.” – Reddit review

“Hoopla has no wait times on books but does cap you at a certain amount of books per month. Mine is 10 (old library used to be 8).” – Reddit review

“Hoopla does not format text correctly. It cuts off the right end of every line displayed at the right edge of the screen.” – Reddit review

 

While Hoopla complaints don’t flag any major issues (besides occasional technical problems typical for every software app), they show that you cannot rely entirely on this app to build your child’s reading fluency.

Libby reviews: What parents think

My research shows that Libby has an average rating of 1.7 on Trustpilot, and Reddit reviews are diverse. Next, I’ll look in detail at what customers say about Libby to compare Hoopla vs Libby reviews.

Libby: Users’ favorites

• Wider range of new titles
• Functionality to support students with dyslexia
• User-friendly app

“You’re more likely to find new, in demand titles on Libby.” – Reddit review

“Libby has a font that is optimized for people with dyslexia that you can choose when you read eBooks!” – Reddit review

“Love this app – easy to use, easy to understand – can browse multiple libraries where I have cards in my area.” – Trustpilot review

Libby: What users dislike

• Long wait times
• Lack of syncing across devices
• Downloading problems that prevent offline reading

“I was in spot 1 when a book I wanted was released. Wait time 2 weeks. Awesome. Now I’m 93rd in line with a “several months wait” – what happened?” – Reddit review

“It used to sync across devices but has not for many months. I’ve been in contact with support and even ran through several exercises with them and they never could figure out the problem.” – Trustpilot review

“Very hard to download audiobooks, they keep stalling halfway through, or even worse only download the prologue.” – Trustpilot review

💡In conclusion, Hoopla vs Libby Reddit and Trustpilot reviews highlight important pros and cons for both apps. Generally, Hoopla is faster and more reliable and offers access to movies, shows, and music. Meanwhile, Libby supplies you with newer books but you might need to wait for a couple of weeks.

Keep in mind that you can use both platforms at the same time to take advantage of all the benefits as long as your local library offers an account.

What’s the main difference between Hoopla and Libby?

The most important difference between Hoopla and Libby is that the former provides instant access to a wide range of online educational and entertaining resources, while the latter is limited to reading materials and might imply a waiting time.

However, Libby’s audiobooks and eBooks are generally more diverse, including both new and old titles, whereas Hoopla’s books are more classical. In other words, students can’t get a hold of the hottest titles via Hoopla.

So, it’s finally time to sum up which one is better, Libby or Hoopla, best on features, pricing, and customer reviews.

Hoopla or Libby: Which is better for your child?

My detailed Hoopla vs Libby comparison shows that both apps have the potential to help children improve reading skills through online practice.

• If you want to focus on reading fluency, you can choose Libby.
• If you aim to provide your child with additional education resources, such as movies and music, you should select Hoopla.
• And if you’re aspiring to make your child a top reader, then Brighterly is the right choice.

With Brighterly, your family gets immediate access to:

✅Custom-designed and delivered, 1:1 reading tutoring by professional teachers

✅Common Core-aligned, award-winning reading curriculum

✅Affordable pricing accompanied by free learning materials

Ready to test the power of 1:1, high-dose tutoring? Book free lesson to check out the Brighterly approach and decide if it’s the best fit for your child.

Comparisons of other popular digital learning platforms

Choosing the top learning apps for your child is an important decision, as you want to select resources that are effective and fun, and yet affordable. Now that you know the main similarities and differences between Libby vs Hoopla, it’s a good idea to also look into some other potential options. Discover more articles, describing other leading learning websites:

• 10 Best Reading Apps for Kids in 2025
• Kumon Reading Reviews: Is It the Right Choice? [2025]
• Top 10 Reading Websites for Kids and Teens in 2025
• Reading Eggs vs ABC mouse: What You Need to Know Before Choosing