Comparison

KomiX vs BookShelves eBook Reader

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

Head to head
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
Currently charting
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).

About

BookShelves eBook Reader

This app allows you to read EPUB, PDF, and comic books with access to over 1.5 million free public domain books. Organize your library, customize your reading experience with multiple themes and fonts, and sync your progress across devices.

Highlights
  • 1.5 million+ free books
  • EPUB, PDF, and comic reader
  • Customizable themes and fonts
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Smart library management
  • Highlighting and note-taking
  • Export highlights
Features
Read full description

BookShelves is an EPUB, PDF, and comic book reader with a built-in catalog of 1.5 million free books. Discover public domain classics, organize your digital library, and sync seamlessly across iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iCloud (Pro). WHAT READERS SAY "Phenomenal book reading and management app, 'just works'." "My everlasting search for the perfect ePub reader might be coming to an end." "Among the best and actively developed." DISCOVER 1.5 MILLION+ FREE BOOKS • 1.5 million+ classic works — Pride and Prejudice, Moby Dick, more • 1,100+ premium editions from Standard Ebooks • Internet Archive — millions of historical texts and rare books • 1,200+ Spanish classics from the Biblioteca Nacional de España • 16,000+ Japanese classics from Aozora Bunko • Browse OPDS catalogs from external libraries and servers One tap to download. No account required. POWERFUL READING EXPERIENCE • Paginated or continuous scroll — read your way • 10 themes including Sepia, Dark Academia, Night Sky, and more • 10 bundled fonts including OpenDyslexic for accessible reading • Adjustable line spacing, margins, text justification, and font weight • Highlight in 5 colors and add notes to any passage • Export highlights to Markdown, JSON, or CSV • Dictionary look-up with language detection • Full-text search across chapters • Nested table of contents navigation • Bookmarks (iCloud sync with Pro) • Vertical text (tategaki) for Japanese and CJK books • Right-to-left reading for Arabic, Hebrew, and CJK texts • Full keyboard and trackpad support • Multi-window reading on Mac COMIC BOOKS AND MANGA • CBZ, CBR, and CB7 format support • Two-page spreads for landscape reading • Right-to-left mode for manga with reversed tap zones and swipes • Auto-detected from metadata or toggled manually SEAMLESS ICLOUD SYNC (Pro) • Books and cover images • Reading progress and current page • Shelves, tags, and ratings • Highlights, notes, and bookmarks • Reader preferences (font, theme, layout) Start reading on your iPhone, continue on your iPad, finish on your Mac. SMART LIBRARY MANAGEMENT • Edit metadata -- title, author, series, publisher, ISBN, and cover image • Automatic metadata and cover art fetching • System shelves: All Books, Recently Added, Reading, Finished, Favorites • Custom shelves for any collection • Color-coded tags for categorization • Search and filter by title, author, or tag • Grid and list views • 5-star ratings • Drag-and-drop import, Files app sharing, or OPDS catalogs • EPUB repair — auto-fixes broken navigation and missing metadata • Import from Calibre libraries with best-format selection FORMAT SUPPORT • EPUB — professional rendering with beautiful typography • PDF — native viewer with smooth scrolling and search • CBZ / CBR / CB7 — comic book archives • FB2 — FictionBook 2 format (auto-converts to EPUB) • MOBI / AZW3 / KF8 / KEPUB — auto-converts to EPUB for reading • TXT / Markdown — plain text and Markdown files (auto-converts to EPUB) MAC EXTRAS • Calibre wireless sync — connect KOReader or other devices over Wi-Fi • OPDS server — share your library on your local network PRIVACY FIRST • Your data stays on your devices • No personal data collected • No ads — clean, distraction-free reading • iCloud keeps your library private and secure FREE AND PRO Free: 10 books with all reading features. Pro unlocks unlimited books, iCloud sync, email to Kindle/reMarkable, highlight export, and OPDS server. Pro is available as a one-time purchase or subscription (monthly/annual, select regions). Subscriptions auto-renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage subscriptions in Apple ID account settings. Privacy Policy: https://getbookshelves.app/privacy/ Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Service: https://getbookshelves.app/terms/ All books from discovery sources are public domain or openly licensed.

Screenshots

KomiX4 screens
BookShelves eBook Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: BookShelves eBook Reader at Free against KomiX's $1.99. BookShelves eBook Reader also leads on rating (3.8 vs 2.8) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). KomiX's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and chart position (#121 vs unranked). On review sentiment, 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

BookShelves eBook Reader is free to download; KomiX costs $1.99 up front. BookShelves eBook Reader sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. KomiX asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BookShelves eBook Reader holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 2.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 19 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of KomiX's written reviews are positive against 64% of BookShelves eBook Reader's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

KomiX ships an update every 2 months, BookShelves eBook Reader weekly. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
KomiX versus BookShelves eBook Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKomiXBookShelves eBook Reader
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating2.8 (4 ratings)3.8 (19 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews — better63.6% of reviews
Number of ratings419 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#121 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS14.0 — better17.4
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB56 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJason SantosCPE Verm. GmbH

Customer experience

KomiX

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

BookShelves eBook Reader

All ratings19 ratings
Positive57.9%
Neutral21.1%
Negative21.1%
Written reviews33 reviews
Positive63.6%
Neutral12.1%
Negative24.2%

In-app purchases

None

KomiX

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

BookShelves eBook Reader

One-time4
  • Small Tip$2.99
  • Medium Tip$3.99
  • Large Tip$8.99
Show 1 more
  • Unlock Pro$9.99

Questions

Is KomiX free?
KomiX costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is BookShelves eBook Reader free?
BookShelves eBook Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, KomiX or BookShelves eBook Reader?
BookShelves eBook Reader is rated higher. KomiX averages 2.8 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while BookShelves eBook Reader averages 3.8 from 19 ratings.
Do KomiX or BookShelves eBook Reader have ads?
Neither KomiX nor BookShelves eBook Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, KomiX or BookShelves eBook Reader?
KomiX ships an update every 2 months, and BookShelves eBook Reader weekly. Most recently, KomiX was updated on October 25, 2026 and BookShelves eBook Reader on October 25, 2026.

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