Comparison

Smart Comic Reader vs CBZ, CBR Comic Reader

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

Head to head
About

Smart Comic Reader

This app offers a unique comic reading experience by automatically detecting and zooming into individual panels. It allows for seamless navigation between panels with simple taps, optimizing the view for smaller screens. Import comics from various sources and organize them within your iCloud or local storage.

Highlights
  • Automatic panel detection and zoom
  • Seamless panel-to-panel navigation
  • Optimized viewing for small screens
  • Comic import from any source
  • iCloud sync and local storage options
  • Supports CBZ, CBR, and PDF formats
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

A different kind of comic reader that offers a better way to read comics on a smaller screen. How it works: 1. Import any comic into the app. 2. Double tap on a panel and watch the app automatically detect its boundaries and zoom in on it. 3. Tap on the side of the screen to easily move to the next panel. If needed, the app will rotate the comic to make maximum use of your screen space. Key Features ============ Smart Reader: - Automatically zoom in and move between panels for a smooth reading experience. - Works with any comic, western or manga, no matter the art style. Panels do not need well-defined edges to be detected. - Always stay in control, let the app guide you over the page while you can always manually zoom and pan. Comic Collection: - Import comics from anywhere and organize your comic collection. - Comics are stored in iCloud to save storage space and keep your collection in sync across devices. - Your Smart Comic Reader collection is a regular folder on your iCloud Drive that you can access and manage from any iCloud connected device, like a Mac, or a Windows device using iCloud for Windows. - Also works locally if iCloud is disabled. - Supports comics in CBZ/ZIP, CBR/RAR and PDF formats. And many more features to come! If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to send them to: support@vandijk.dev. Comics in video and screenshots: “Pepper&Carrot”, David Revoy, CC-By “Plastic Man”, Quality Comics, Public Domain “Say Hello to Black Jack”, Shuho Sato

About

CBZ, CBR Comic Reader

This app allows you to read various digital book and comic formats, including CBZ, CBR, PDF, and EPUB. Organize your library, secure your content with a PIN or Face ID, and bookmark your favorite pages. Enjoy a discreet reading mode and a favorites library for quick access.

Highlights
  • Supports CBZ, CBR, PDF, and EPUB formats
  • PIN Lock and Face ID for privacy
  • Instant bookmarking and favorites library
  • Smart organization with custom folders
  • Discreet reading mode
  • Free trial for premium features
Read full description

READ CBZ, CBR, EPUB & PDF. BUILD A LIBRARY THAT FEELS LIKE YOURS. Bring the comics, manga, graphic novels, ebooks, and documents you already own. Uncover turns your files into a beautiful, organized reading library on iPhone, iPad, and Mac—ready whenever you want to read offline. YOUR FILES. FOUR ESSENTIAL FORMATS. • Open CBZ and CBR comic books. • Read EPUB ebooks in a clean, scrollable chapter view. • Open PDF books, comics, magazines, and documents. • Import from Files or Finder, open files with Uncover, drag and drop, or connect folder-backed libraries. COMIC AND MANGA READING, YOUR WAY Choose the clean standard reader for CBZ, CBR, and PDF, flip through an animated 2D book, or open a tactile 3D hardcover with page-curl effects. Read one page or a two-page spread, switch between left-to-right and right-to-left manga navigation, zoom into artwork, jump with the page navigator, and set autoplay to keep the story moving. For EPUB, enjoy a dedicated live chapter reader with selectable, scrollable text. ORGANIZE MORE THAN A FOLDER OF FILES Build multiple libraries from the folders you control. Search titles and notes, browse by folder, and filter by tags, rating, page count, reading status, favorites, comments, or recency. Sort by title, date, rating, pages, file size, or last read. Find duplicates without giving up ownership of your originals. PLAN WHAT TO READ NEXT Mark titles unread, in progress, finished, or Won’t Finish. Add favorites and 1–5 star ratings. Create reading lists with target dates, page progress, and pacing that shows whether you are ahead, on track, or behind. SAVE THE PAGES THAT STAY WITH YOU Keep a visual archive of saved pages. Add named bookmarks, document notes, and threaded page comments. With Uncover Pro, export or share rendered pages and add Apple Pencil markup to supported visual formats. YOUR MAC CAN HOST YOUR SHELF Keep original files on a Mac and use Remote Library to browse and read them from iPhone or iPad over your private local network. Pin remote books for offline reading. The Mac must be open, awake, and running Uncover while it hosts; Remote Library is not cloud storage. LOCAL-FIRST AND PERSONAL Your books stay in libraries and folders you choose. Uncover Pro can add an app PIN, biometric access, and per-library locks to keep selected shelves out of casual view. Locks protect access inside Uncover; they do not encrypt source files. FREE PREVIEW AND UNCOVER PRO The free experience lets you read the first 5 pages of each document and create 1 reading list, 5 tags, 5 saved pages, and 5 bookmarks. Uncover Pro unlocks reading beyond page 5, additional organization, page export and sharing, Apple Pencil markup, app and library security, and premium app icons. Available products, billing periods, prices, and any offers are shown before purchase. Supported document formats: CBZ, CBR, EPUB, and PDF. Privacy Policy: https://luisalvarez12.github.io/privacy.html?id=uncover Terms of Use: https://luisalvarez12.github.io/terms.html?id=uncover

Screenshots

Smart Comic Reader4 screens
CBZ, CBR Comic Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: CBZ, CBR Comic Reader at Free against Smart Comic Reader's $2.99. CBZ, CBR Comic Reader also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 weeks) and device support (4 vs 2). Smart Comic Reader's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.0) and review sentiment (91% vs 50%). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

CBZ, CBR Comic Reader is free to download; Smart Comic Reader costs $2.99 up front. CBZ, CBR Comic Reader sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Smart Comic Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Smart Comic Reader holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Smart Comic Reader has 539 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Smart Comic Reader's written reviews are positive against 50% of CBZ, CBR Comic Reader's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Smart Comic Reader ships an update every 5 weeks, CBZ, CBR Comic Reader every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard10 real differences · 1 level
Smart Comic Reader versus CBZ, CBR Comic Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmart Comic ReaderCBZ, CBR Comic Reader
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.9 (539 ratings) — better4.0 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews91.2% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings539 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#177 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS18.3 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOnne van DijkRezonating Apps, LLC

Customer experience

Smart Comic Reader

All ratings539 ratings
Positive97.0%
Neutral0.9%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews217 reviews
Positive91.2%
Neutral2.3%
Negative6.5%

CBZ, CBR Comic Reader

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

Smart Comic Reader

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Deleted user's entire comic collection
  • iCloud sync not working for some users
  • Freezing/crashing issues on iPad

Requested features

6 requests
  • Page marking/bookmarking function
  • Built-in dictionary/translation tool
  • Vertical scrolling mode for webtoons
  • Ability to manually arrange reading order
  • Live Text integration for dictionary lookup
Show 1 more
  • Widgets for quick access

CBZ, CBR Comic Reader

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Smart Comic Reader

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

CBZ, CBR Comic Reader

Subscriptions5
  • Premium Weekly3 Days trial$0.997 Days
  • Uncover Weekly$1.997 Days
  • Premium Monthly3 Days trial$1.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Premium - Annual3 Days trial$5.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium - Lifetime$4.99

Questions

Is Smart Comic Reader free?
Smart Comic Reader costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is CBZ, CBR Comic Reader free?
CBZ, CBR Comic Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Smart Comic Reader or CBZ, CBR Comic Reader?
Smart Comic Reader is rated higher. Smart Comic Reader averages 4.9 out of 5 from 539 ratings, while CBZ, CBR Comic Reader averages 4.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Smart Comic Reader or CBZ, CBR Comic Reader have ads?
Neither Smart Comic Reader nor CBZ, CBR Comic Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Smart Comic Reader or CBZ, CBR Comic Reader?
Smart Comic Reader ships an update every 5 weeks, and CBZ, CBR Comic Reader every 3 weeks. Most recently, Smart Comic Reader was updated on October 12, 2026 and CBZ, CBR Comic Reader on September 22, 2026.

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