Comparison

Outplayer vs Panel Flow

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read 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.

About

Panel Flow

This app offers a unique comic and manga reading experience, automatically detecting panels and speech bubbles to guide you through the story. It supports various file formats, offers text-to-speech narration and translation, and syncs your library across Apple devices.

Highlights
  • Panel and speech bubble detection
  • Text-to-speech narration
  • Speech bubble translation
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Supports CBZ, CBR, CB7, CBT, and PDF files
  • Customizable themes
  • New chapter alerts
Features
Read full description

Panel Flow is a comic and manga reader that follows the story panel by panel. Version 3.0 brings it to iPhone, iPad and Mac, with your library synced through iCloud. Bring your own collection: import CBZ, CBR, CB7, CBT and PDF files, or browse your own comic servers (OPDS-compatible). Panel Flow organizes it all and keeps your place. GUIDED READING - Panel and speech bubble detection: Panel Flow finds the panels on each page and moves through them in reading order, zooming in on one panel at a time. - Steady focus that reframes when you rotate the device and respects Reduce Motion. - Left-to-right, right-to-left for manga, and vertical scroll for long-strip comics. LISTEN AND TRANSLATE - Text-to-speech reads the speech bubbles aloud, and guided reading can move along with the voice, bubble by bubble. - Speech bubble translation shows the translated text right on the page. - On supported devices with Apple Intelligence, ask for an on-device description of the current page. YOUR LIBRARY, ON EVERY DEVICE - iCloud sync, once you turn it on: collections, reading progress and metadata follow you across iPhone, iPad and Mac. Downloaded pages and imported files stay on each device. - A personal reading shelf, collections, search, sorting and a metadata editor. - New chapter alerts: turn them on and Panel Flow checks your series from online sources in the background and lets you know about new chapters (your own comic servers are not included). - One Activity Queue for downloads and image enhancement, with several chapters downloading at once. - A Storage screen shows what each publication uses and frees space by type, chapter or publication. - Optional progress tracking with anime and manga tracking services. MADE TO FIT YOU - Themes from manga to noir, with accessible contrast in every one. - Shortcuts and Siri: Open Library and Continue Reading. - VoiceOver, Dynamic Type and Reduce Motion support. - Available in English, Spanish and Portuguese, with an original sample comic to try first. PRIVACY Anonymous usage analytics are off by default; you choose whether to turn them on in Settings > Privacy.

Screenshots

Outplayer3 screens
Panel Flow4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Panel Flow at none against Outplayer's 1. Panel Flow also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Outplayer's advantage is ratings volume (513 vs 1) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 27.0). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Outplayer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Panel Flow asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Panel Flow holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Outplayer has 513 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Outplayer ships an update every 3 weeks, Panel Flow every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Outplayer versus Panel Flow: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOutplayerPanel Flow
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (513 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews86.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings513 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better27.0
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB136 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperStephen SalernoTap4Mobile do Brasil

Customer experience

Outplayer

All ratings510 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral3.5%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews329 reviews
Positive86.6%
Neutral6.1%
Negative7.3%

Panel Flow

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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 more
  • 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

Panel Flow

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Outplayer

One-time1
  • Outplayer Advanced$7.99
None

Panel Flow

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Outplayer free?
Outplayer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Panel Flow free?
Panel Flow is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Outplayer or Panel Flow?
Panel Flow is rated higher. Outplayer averages 4.6 out of 5 from 513 ratings, while Panel Flow averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Outplayer or Panel Flow have ads?
Neither Outplayer nor Panel Flow shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Outplayer or Panel Flow?
Outplayer ships an update every 3 weeks, and Panel Flow every 2 weeks. Most recently, Outplayer was updated on November 6, 2026 and Panel Flow on October 30, 2026.

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