Comparison

Panels vs KomiX

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read 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

About

KomiX

Organize and read your digital comic collection with features like thumbnail views, customizable stacks, and in-comic page navigation. Supports CBR, CBZ, and PDF formats, with options to edit pages and export comics.

Highlights
  • Thumbnail collection view
  • Customizable comic stacks
  • In-comic page navigation
  • Supports CBR, CBZ, PDF
  • Page editing and rearrangement
  • Comic database with search
  • Persistent zoom option
Read full description

KomiX makes organising your comics as fun as reading them! Features - *See your collection as thumbnails, pinch to zoom making the thumbnails as large or small as you like. *Create “stacks” of comics, in which you can drag and drop sets of comics. *Create “stacks” within stacks, for example you can create a Spider-Man stack, and inside that create a stack for the Amazing Spider-Man, and a stack for the Spectacular Spider-Man, and so on! *Currently reading panel shows you the comic you were last reading so you can jump straight back into it with a tap! *In comic reading view if you tap in the center the HUD will appear, with a thumbnail of each page. You can tap a page to jump to it. *Reads most Comic Book files - cbz, cbr, pdf. *A trash can - drag and drop comics onto the trash can icon to delete them. *An exporter - drag and drop comics onto the exporter icon to package comics to send them to other devices. When comics are packed ready to send the icon will display the number of comics ready, just tap the icon to display the list of ready comics and then tap the export button. *A 'take out of stack' icon - drag comics you want to take out of their current stack and drop them on this icon. *Comic Database feature - can create a Database of all your comics in KomiX, all entries fully editable. You can even add your' physical copy' comics to the Database. The Database has great search features. *Persistent zoom - you can turn on persistent zoom in the settings, good if you use a smaller device (iPhone), and not an iPad to read your comics. *Edit pages - you can now rearrange pages, or delete unwanted or duplicate pages. Tip - you can easily drag more than one comic at a time - start a drag by touching a comic for a second until it 'pops out' then drag it across the screen - don't let go! Now you can tap other comics with a free finger - these will be added to the drag list. Now you can drag the comics to a stack, or the trash, or another App! I hope you enjoy the App! I am a huge fan of comics, so I made this App because I wanted features that other Comic Readers didn't have. Please let me know of any features you'd like via my FaceBook page (reachable in the App).

Screenshots

Panels4 screens
KomiX4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Panels at Free against KomiX's $1.99. Panels also leads on rating (4.8 vs 2.8) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 2 months). KomiX's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5). On review sentiment, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Panels is free to download; KomiX costs $1.99 up front. Panels sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. KomiX asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Panels holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Panels has 12K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Panels's written reviews are positive against 67% of KomiX's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Panels ships an update every 8 days, KomiX every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and June 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Panels versus KomiX: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPanelsKomiX
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.8 (12K ratings) — better2.8 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews70.1% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings12K — better4
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#161 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size165 MB31 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperProdukt StudioJason Santos

Customer experience

Panels

All ratings12,369 ratings
Positive95.4%
Neutral1.8%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews1,122 reviews
Positive70.1%
Neutral9.6%
Negative20.3%

KomiX

All ratings4 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

Bugs and requests

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 more
  • Support for more file formats like ePub

KomiX

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Panels

Subscriptions2
  • Panels+ Monthly7 Days trial$1.491 Month
  • Panels+ Yearly7 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time3
  • Panels 3 Upgrade$9.99
  • Panels 2$19.99
  • Panels 3$19.99
None

KomiX

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Panels free?
Panels is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is KomiX free?
KomiX costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Panels or KomiX?
Panels is rated higher. Panels averages 4.8 out of 5 from 12K ratings, while KomiX averages 2.8 from 4 ratings.
Do Panels or KomiX have ads?
Neither Panels nor KomiX shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Panels or KomiX?
Panels ships an update every 8 days, and KomiX every 2 months. Most recently, Panels was updated on September 29, 2026 and KomiX on June 2, 2026.

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