Comparison

Panels vs Chorus Reader

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

Chorus Reader

Transform your documents, articles, and files into natural-sounding audiobooks. Enjoy real-time streaming and studio-quality speech synthesis entirely on your device, with no internet connection required. Choose from a variety of voices or clone your own for a personalized listening experience.

Highlights
  • On-device text-to-audiobook generation
  • Real-time audio streaming
  • Supports EPUB, PDF, text, and Markdown
  • 30+ built-in voices
  • Voice cloning and recording
  • Standard and Turbo generation modes
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

Turn anything you can read into an audiobook — narrated on your device, in a voice you choose. Even your own. Drop in an EPUB, PDF, or article. Chorus Reader detects chapters, generates natural AI narration right on your iPhone or iPad, and streams the audio as it is created. No account, no upload — your books and your voice never leave the device. LISTEN TO YOUR OWN LIBRARY • EPUB, PDF, plain text, Markdown, Word, and Pages files — even photos of pages • Share any article from Safari and it is waiting in your library • Follow RSS feeds and listen to their newest articles • Chapters detected automatically; skip, scrub, and set a sleep timer • Audio streams while it generates — start listening in seconds, keep listening in the background A BOOKSTORE, BUILT IN • The Chorus Library: more than a hundred hand-picked classics, free for every reader • Hear a sample of the actual book before you shelve it — narrated on the spot, on your device, in your chosen voice • A curated list of open-access research papers, organized by field, with the reason each one was chosen • One tap moves any of it into your library, ready to narrate PICK A VOICE — OR CLONE ONE • Standard engine (free): 40+ natural voices, narrating in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Hindi • Personal engine: clone any voice from 15 seconds of audio — yours, a friend's, a favorite narrator. English is built in; Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese download when you want them • Premium engine (on higher-memory iPhones and iPads): the most expressive narration, with multi-voice character dialogue PRIVATE BY DESIGN Narration happens on your device. There is no account, and nothing you read, record, or generate is ever uploaded — we could not see it if we wanted to. Airplane mode works fine for listening. FREE TO TRY, ONE-TIME UPGRADE The free tier includes the Standard engine, 40+ voices in six languages, audio export, the entire Chorus Library, and your first imported book. A single one-time purchase — never a subscription — unlocks every engine your device supports, voice cloning, multi-voice narration, and unlimited imports. Everything we ship later is included. WHAT READERS USE IT FOR • The half-finished novel sitting in your reading app • Textbooks and papers nobody bothered to record • Newsletters and longreads saved for "later" • Hearing drafts read back in your own voice Chorus Reader is built for the books you actually want to read.

Screenshots

Panels4 screens
Chorus Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Chorus Reader at 100% against Panels's 70%. Panels's advantage is ratings volume (13K vs 2) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Panels sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month and Chorus Reader sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Panels holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Panels has 13K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 70% of Panels's written reviews are positive against 100% of Chorus Reader'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, Chorus Reader weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Panels versus Chorus Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPanelsChorus Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (13K ratings) — better4.5 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews70.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 8 daysWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#183 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size166 MB1.9 GB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperProdukt StudioAleksander Allen

Customer experience

Panels

All ratings12,528 ratings
Positive95.5%
Neutral1.8%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews1,133 reviews
Positive70.3%
Neutral9.5%
Negative20.1%

Chorus Reader

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Chorus Reader

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
1 purchases

Chorus Reader

One-time1
  • Unlock Chorus$9.99

Questions

Is Panels free?
Panels is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chorus Reader free?
Chorus Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Panels or Chorus Reader?
Panels is rated higher. Panels averages 4.8 out of 5 from 13K ratings, while Chorus Reader averages 4.5 from 2 ratings.
Do Panels or Chorus Reader have ads?
Neither Panels nor Chorus Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Panels or Chorus Reader?
Panels ships an update every 8 days, and Chorus Reader weekly. Most recently, Panels was updated on October 14, 2026 and Chorus Reader on October 7, 2026.

Other comparisons