Outplayer vs Paperback
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Outplayer
A video player designed for iOS that prioritizes speed and simplicity. Enjoy seamless playback of various video formats with advanced features like 4K HDR and spatial audio. Easily manage your media with intuitive controls and file integration.
- 4K HDR playback with instant seeking
- Spatial audio with head tracking
- Picture in Picture support
- Customizable subtitle styling
- Play any video format (MKV, MP4, etc.)
- Integration with Files app for external drives
Read full descriptionHide full description
A video player for iOS built around speed, simplicity, and getting out of your way. Outplayer is carefully designed to feel seamless, so you can just focus on what you’re watching. And it's backed by strong, reliable performance to play anything well. • 4K HDR playback with instant, real-time seeking • Spatial audio with head tracking and immersive surround sound • Picture in Picture, seamless for all videos • Fluid gestures and responsive controls • Customizable subtitle styling and dual language support • Quick and easy navigation for chapters and playlists • Integration with Files app to support SMB and external hard drives • Play any video format, worry-free (including MKV, MP4, and more) For free users, Outplayer has no playback restrictions and no ads. A one-time purchase, Outplayer Advanced, is available for a range of additional configuration options.
Paperback
This app provides an ad-free reading experience for comics and manga from a Komga server. It offers extensive customization through a scripting API, allowing users to extend its functionality with TypeScript or JavaScript.
- Ad-free reading
- Komga server support
- TypeScript/JavaScript scripting API
- Extensible functionality
Read full descriptionHide full description
An Ad-Free Komga client for iOS. Supports an extensive scripting API using TypeScript/JavaScript to extend the app functionality.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Paperback at none against Outplayer's 1. Paperback also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). Outplayer's advantage is review sentiment (86% vs 54%) and rating (4.6 vs 4.3). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Outplayer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Paperback asks for nothing beyond the download.
Outplayer holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 497 and 569 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 86% of Outplayer's written reviews are positive against 54% of Paperback's.
Outplayer ships an update every 3 weeks, Paperback every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Outplayer | Paperback |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (497 ratings) — better | 4.3 (569 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 86.1% of reviews — better | 53.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 497 | 569 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 39 MB | 33 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Stephen Salerno | Faizan Durrani |
Customer experience
Outplayer
Paperback
User reviews
Outplayer
From 497 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Smooth playback
- 👍 Intuitive and clean UI
- 🚀 Supports wide range of video formats
- 🚀 Excellent codec support
- 🚀 Hardware decoding
Room to improve
- 🐛 Audio glitches
- 🐛 Brightness/contrast issues
- 🐛 Restore purchases bug
- 🔋 Causes device heating
- 👎 Lacks external subtitle support
Paperback
From 569 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fantastic app with great features
- 👍 Clean and efficient UI
- 🔒 No ads or in-app purchases
- 🎨 Customizable themes and settings
- 📚 Wide range of manga/comics sources
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
- 🔍 Confusing setup and onboarding process
- 🔄 Unreliable library sync and update features
- 🕰️ Slow download and loading speeds
- 📱 Compatibility problems on some devices
Bugs and requests
Outplayer
Reported bugs
5 issues- Restore purchases bug
- Audio glitches
- Brightness/contrast issues
- Causes device heating
- Incompatibility with older devices
Requested features
15 requests- Add next/previous episode buttons
- Implement Trakt integration
- Add WebDAV support
- Implement variable speed playback
- Add video/folder sorting options
Show 10 moreShow fewer
- Implement Dolby Vision HDR support
- Implement Atmos audio support
- Add AirPlay/casting support
- Add subtitle delay sync option
- Implement in-app subtitle downloader
- Add video metadata scraping
- Implement folder icons
- Add double-tap to skip gestures
- Implement shuffle playback
- Add in-app URL browser
Paperback
Reported bugs
3 issues- JSON token errors when interacting with server
- Inability to add/remove manga from library
- Disappearing navigation UI elements
Requested features
4 requests- Bookmark/resume reading feature
- Panel-by-panel/smart panel reading mode
- Sync reading progress across devices
- Better documentation and support resources
In-app purchases
Outplayer
- Outplayer Advanced$7.99
Paperback
No in-app purchases
