Comparison

Panels vs Bookoscope

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
Currently charting
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

Bookoscope

Browse and download public domain ebooks or access your own self-hosted library. This app crawls OPDS endpoints, caches book data, and allows quick export to your preferred ereader.

Highlights
  • Browse self-hosted ebook libraries
  • Download public domain classics
  • Searchable by metadata
  • Cached feeds
  • Quick download and export
  • Compatible with Calibre-web, Kavita, Ubooquity
Features
Read full description

Bookoscope is a fast, searchable ebook catalog. With Bookoscope, you can browse your own self-hosted ebook library as well as download public domain classics from Project Gutenberg. FEATURES: - Fast - Easy on the eyes - Includes over 70,000 public domain books from Project Gutenberg - Uses cached feeds (refresh on demand) - Searchable by any available metadata - Quick download and export to the ereader of your choice COMPATIBLE WITH: - Calibre-web - Kavita - Ubooquity - Any ebook server with OPDS 1.0 functionality WHY USE BOOKOSCOPE? Some ereader apps can connect to OPDS endpoints, but the functionality is tucked away and awkward. There's no way to browse and search all the ebooks you have access to, all at once. Bookoscope fills that niche. It crawls your OPDS endpoints, finds and caches all the books it can, and lets you easily download any of them to your device. From there, you can export them to your preferred ereader. BOOKOSCOPE IS NOT: - An ebook reader, sync client, or annotator, like Apple Books, Google Books, or Kindle. - A metadata editor or organizer, like Calibre. - A self-hosted ebook server, like Kavita, Ubooquity, or calibre-web. Bookoscope may be used with any of the above, but is not affiliated with any other app or tool. WHAT IS OPDS? OPDS is the open standard for web endpoints that expose catalogs of ebooks. Many people use home OPDS servers for their personal ebook libraries. WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE AN OPDS SERVER? That's okay! You can use Bookoscope to browse and download free, completely legal books in the public domain. Start with classics like: - Moby Dick - Frankenstein - Pride and Prejudice - The Great Gatsby - The complete works of William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Frederick Douglass, and more!

Screenshots

Panels4 screens
Bookoscope4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Panels at 70% against Bookoscope's 0%. Panels also leads on price (Free vs $2.99) and ratings volume (12K vs 1). Bookoscope's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On update cadence, ads and device support 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; Bookoscope costs $2.99 up front. Panels sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Bookoscope asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bookoscope holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Panels has 12K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 70% of Panels's written reviews are positive against 0% of Bookoscope's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Panels ships an update every 8 days, Bookoscope every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Panels versus Bookoscope: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPanelsBookoscope
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating4.8 (12K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews70.2% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings12K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 8 daysEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#190 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size165 MB35 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperProdukt StudioIsaac Lyman

Customer experience

Panels

All ratings12,369 ratings
Positive95.4%
Neutral1.8%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews1,126 reviews
Positive70.2%
Neutral9.6%
Negative20.2%

Bookoscope

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

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

Bookoscope

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

Bookoscope

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Panels free?
Panels is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bookoscope free?
Bookoscope costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Panels or Bookoscope?
Bookoscope is rated higher. Panels averages 4.8 out of 5 from 12K ratings, while Bookoscope averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Panels or Bookoscope have ads?
Neither Panels nor Bookoscope shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Panels or Bookoscope?
Panels ships an update every 8 days, and Bookoscope every 5 days. Most recently, Panels was updated on October 3, 2026 and Bookoscope on September 30, 2026.

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