Comics Book Reader vs Panels
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Comics Book Reader
This application is a robust viewer for various comic book formats, including CBZ, CBR, CB7, and CBT. It offers a highly optimized visualization system for mobile devices, ensuring maximum productivity and comfort. Enjoy an elegant design, extended functionality, and high speed for a pleasurable reading experience.
- Supports CBZ, CBR, CB7, CBT formats
- Integrates with cloud services (Google Drive, Dropbox)
- Supports network services (SMB, FTP, SFTP)
- File manager with sorting and search
- Wi-Fi and FTP transfer options
- Page layout and effects customization
- Bookmarks and quick preview
Read full descriptionHide full description
The BEST application for reading cbz, cbr, cb7 and cbt comics. All formats are thoroughly elaborated and are 100% supported by the application. The visualization system takes into account the specific character of the formats functioning on mobile devices (memory capacity, the number of general processor units etc.), Providing a maximum productivity and comfort when working with large documents. Elegant design, extended functionality, high speed and stability of work will make reading of your favorite literature a pleasurable experience. You can contact technical support and leave a comment without quitting the application. Comic Book Reader’s special features: ■ Compatible with all popular archive formats (rar, zip, 7z, gz, tar ...) ■ Integration with popular cloud services(Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, Yandex.Disk) ■ Integration with popular network services(SMB, FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, DLNA) ■ Open documents directly from cloud services and network services ■ Hight application stability ■ Automatic recovery bad and non standard files ■ User friendly navigation ■ Page layout option in documents(single page, double pages, double pages with cover) ■ Effects for documents(sepia, monochrome, color controls) ■ Brightness control ■ Rotation lock ■ Bookmarks ■ Quick preview ■ Page scaling ■ Auto scaling for adjacent pages ■ Opening documents from external applications ■ Last open document list ■ Web Browser and download manager ■ Wi-Fi transfer ■ FTP transfer File Manager Features: ■ Intuitive interface ■ iTunes integration ■ File sorting(by name, by extension, by size, by date) ■ Searching files in subfolders ■ Create, move, copy, rename, pack/unpack, delete file/folder options ■ File/folder search ■ Preview book cover Wi-Fi Transfer Features: ■ Intuitive interface ■ Create, move, rename, delete file/folder options ■ Downloading/uploading few media files with one click ■ Display upload progress Feel free to ask questions, report bugs or request new features: support@develsoftware.com
Panels
Enhance your comic and manga reading with a clean, customizable interface. Enjoy universal file compatibility, cross-device syncing, and advanced reading presets. Organize your library, secure your content, and import from various cloud services and local networks.
- Universal file compatibility (CBR, CBZ, PDF, ePUB)
- Cross-device reading progress sync
- iCloud Drive integration
- Customizable reading presets
- Right-to-left reading for manga
- OPDS server support
- Content security with password/Face ID
Read full descriptionHide full description
Improve your comic reading experience with Panels. Enjoy reading your favorite titles in a clean and delightful interface, with plenty of customization and advanced features — fully DRM-free, with first-class support for OPDS, your own library, and your own files. Key features: - Universal Compatibility: Support for most common comic types: CBR, CBZ, CB7, PDF and comic ePUB (not text eBook). Support for multiple image formats, including WebP. - Cross-Device Sync: Synchronize your reading progress across iPhone, iPad and Mac and resume reading exactly where you left off. - Full iCloud Drive support: store your entire library on iCloud and access it from different devices. - Library Organization: Effortlessly manage your comic library with intuitive tools for easy navigation, custom folder colors, logos and cover images. * Themes: support for Light and Dark modes, and many others. * Reading Presets: Choose from a multitude of reading presets or create your own, including horizontal, vertical, or panel-by-panel guided view. - Right to Left reading (manga): read any comic with Panels. * OPDS support: Stream, search and download comics from your OPDS compatible server (Komga, Kavita, Codex, Ubooquity and others). * Secure your content: Keep files locked using a password or Face ID for your collections and files. Use Incognito mode to keep your reading sessions hidden. * Live Text and Subject detection. * Experimental Features: Access experimental features like panel-by-panel navigation. Panels Store — DRM-free comics from independent creators: - Browse and buy comics directly inside Panels, no extra apps or accounts. - 100% DRM-free: every purchase is yours to keep, read offline and back up. - Creators keep 80% of revenue, so your purchases directly support the people making the comics. - Purchased issues are added to your library and sync across your devices automatically. Native support for importing files from: * iCloud Drive * Dropbox * Microsoft OneDrive - Substack * OPDS: Komga, Kavita, Codex and others * Local network shared files and folders via SMB and Embedded web server - iTunes - External drives - Airdrop - Drag&Drop from other apps Page Filters: * Reduce Noise * Increase Sharpness * Reduce Moiré * Crop Borders * Require an active subscription or a one-time purchase. • You may purchase an Auto-Renewing Subscription to unlock all the premium features while it\'s active; or a one-off purchase to unlock the current major version features forever. • Your subscription will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase and will automatically renew (at the duration selected) unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. • Current subscription may not be cancelled during the active subscription period; however, you can manage your subscription and/or turn off auto-renewal by visiting your iTunes Account Settings after purchase • Read our privacy policy and terms of use: https://panels.app/privacy / https://panels.app/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Panels at 4.8 against Comics Book Reader's 4.3. Panels also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (12K vs 214). Comics Book Reader's advantage is iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.0). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Comics Book Reader sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Panels sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Panels holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Panels has 12K ratings behind it against 214, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 75% of Comics Book Reader's written reviews are positive against 70% of Panels's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Comics Book Reader ships an update every 4 months, Panels every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Comics Book Reader | Panels |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (214 ratings) | 4.8 (12K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 75.1% of reviews — better | 70.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 214 | 12K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #157 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 158 MB | 165 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | LTD DevelSoftware | Produkt Studio |
Customer experience
Comics Book Reader
Panels
User reviews
Comics Book Reader
From 214 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Smooth performance
- 📚 Supports various comic formats
- 💾 Cloud storage integration
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🔍 Good file management
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- ⏰ Frequent ads interrupting reading
- 💰 Expensive premium version
- 📱 Compatibility issues with newer devices
- 🔗 Cloud storage integration problems
Panels
From 12K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Smooth and responsive
- 👍 Clean and modern UI
- 💡 Useful features like panel view and vertical scrolling
- 🔒 No ads in paid version
- 👍 Good import and organization options
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🔒 Useful features locked behind paywall
- 🔒 Subscription model instead of one-time purchase
- 🐛 Issues with page navigation and zoom
- 🐛 Problems with reading right-to-left content
Bugs and requests
Comics Book Reader
Reported bugs
5 issues- App crashes on launch
- Corrupted comic file downloads
- Slow performance on older devices
- Inability to access cloud storage
- Incorrect page rendering
Requested features
5 requests- Dark mode option
- Ability to organize comics into folders
- Seamless page-to-page navigation
- More cloud storage providers support
- Customizable reading experience
Panels
Reported bugs
5 issues- Crashes when opening large files
- Issues with page order and navigation
- Problems with zooming and scrolling
- Syncing and importing bugs
- Compatibility issues with older devices
Requested features
6 requests- Ability to create sub-folders and nested collections
- Automatic sorting and organization of comics
- Option to lock reading direction
- Double-tap to zoom functionality
- Progress tracking and bookmarking features
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Support for more file formats like ePub
In-app purchases
Comics Book Reader
- Thank the Developer$0.99
- Appearance Customization$1.99
- Additional Formats$3.99
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Pro Version$5.99
Panels
- Panels+ Monthly7 Days trial$1.491 Month
- Panels+ Yearly7 Days trial$14.991 Year
- Panels 3 Upgrade$9.99
- Panels 2$19.99
- Panels 3$19.99
Questions
Is Comics Book Reader free?
Is Panels free?
Which has better reviews, Comics Book Reader or Panels?
Do Comics Book Reader or Panels have ads?
Which is updated more often, Comics Book Reader or Panels?
Other comparisons















