Comparison

Comics Plus vs Pagebound

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

Head to head
About

Comics Plus

Access thousands of digital comics, graphic novels, manga, and picture books from numerous publishers. Enjoy unlimited reading without wait lists or late fees, and manage your progress across devices. Stream titles online or download them for offline enjoyment.

Highlights
  • Unlimited digital comic access
  • No wait lists or borrowing limits
  • Cross-device reading progress
  • Online streaming and offline downloads
  • Diverse publisher selection
Features
Read full description

Comics Plus from LibraryPass gives you unlimited access to thousands of digital comics, graphic novels, manga, and picture books from dozens of publishers — exclusively through your school or library. Don’t see your school or library listed? Ask your librarian about #ReadAllTheComics! No wait lists; no borrowing limits; no late fees Manage your shelf and reading progress across devices Maintain your reading progress across devices Stream titles online without using storage space Download titles for offline reading Explore a diverse selection from publishers like ABDO, Andrews McMeel, BOOM! Studios, Capstone, Cherry Lake, Dark Horse, Europe Comics, Fantagraphics, Humanoids, Image Comics, Kodansha, Lerner, Manga Classics, Oni Press, Papercutz, Tokyopop, TOON Books, UDON Entertainment, Yen Press, and dozens more. Comics Plus is created by Joyful Reading Co, where we're dedicated to nurturing a lifelong love of reading through engagement, access, and data-driven insights. Learn more at https://comicsplusapp.com/

About

Pagebound

This app allows users to discuss books in real-time forums tied to specific titles. Earn points and badges for tracking your reading progress and engaging with the community. Organize your reading list, rate books, and connect with fellow readers based on shared literary tastes.

Highlights
  • Book-specific discussion forums
  • Gamified reading challenges
  • Points and badge system
  • Organize TBR lists
  • Half-star book ratings
  • Anonymous reader profiles
Features
Read full description

Pagebound combines old-school internet forums with robust book tracking—every book has its own forum. We are indie, anti-AI, and built by 2 women. Discuss books as you read them, view reading stats, and earn points & badges for tracking your reading. EXPERIENCE SOCIAL READING Read with others, without the commitment of a book club. Whatever you’re currently reading, post thoughts, theories, ideas, reactions, and more to that book’s forum. Sort posts by % read to read along with people from all over the world. Anyone with that book in their library will see and can interact with your post, so it’s really easy to start discussions and make new reader friends. VIEW READING STATISTICS & WRAPUPS Everything you log on Pagebound powers robust reading statistics and monthly wrapups. Look back at your reading habits across beautiful charts and graphs. Share your reading progress at the end of each month with summary views. GAMIFY BOOK TRACKING Earn badges that reflect your reading taste by joining Quests. Accumulate points for logging your reading, sharing your thoughts, and contributing to the community. Showcase your badges on your profile and unlock fun rewards. ORGANIZE YOUR LIBRARY Plan your TBR (to-be read) by month or year. Rate books in half-star increments with sub-ratings for enjoyment, quality, characters, and plot. Track your books accurately with Interested, Paused, and DNF (did not finish) reading statuses. Mute books, track tandem reads, and more. MAKE READER FRIENDS Connect with other readers solely based on what you think and read. With anonymous profiles, no algorithm, and private follower counts, we connect readers based on shared taste in books, not clout. Terms of Use: https://support.pagebound.co/terms_of_use

Screenshots

Comics Plus4 screens
Pagebound4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Pagebound at 89% against Comics Plus's 20%. Pagebound also leads on rating (4.8 vs 2.5) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). Comics Plus's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Pagebound sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per month. Comics Plus asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pagebound holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pagebound has 526 ratings behind it against 103, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 20% of Comics Plus's written reviews are positive against 89% of Pagebound's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Comics Plus ships an update every 2 months, Pagebound fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Comics Plus versus Pagebound: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterComics PlusPagebound
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.5 (103 ratings)4.8 (526 ratings) — better
Positive reviews20.4% of reviews88.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings103526 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB64 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperLibrary Pass, Inc.Pagebound LLC

Customer experience

Comics Plus

All ratings102 ratings
Positive23.5%
Neutral19.6%
Negative56.9%
Written reviews108 reviews
Positive20.4%
Neutral17.6%
Negative62.0%

Pagebound

All ratings525 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral1.7%
Negative5.0%
Written reviews338 reviews
Positive88.8%
Neutral3.0%
Negative8.3%

User reviews

Comics Plus

From 103 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 📚 Massive collection of comics and manga
  • 💰 Free access with library card
  • ✅ Legal and legitimate reading platform
  • 🎨 Wide variety of publishers and genres
  • 📖 Ability to store unlimited books on shelf

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and force quits
  • ⏳ Extremely slow loading times
  • 🔍 Search function broken or non-functional
  • 📖 Pages fail to load or display correctly
  • ⚫ Black screen issues when opening books

Pagebound

From 526 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤩 Obsessed with the app
  • 👍 Amazing and user-friendly UI
  • 🤝 Great social features and community
  • 🎨 Beautiful and visually appealing design
  • 🎯 Excellent for book tracking and planning

Room to improve

  • 🔍 Difficulty finding specific language editions of books

Bugs and requests

Comics Plus

Reported bugs

25 issues
  • Login screen stuck on library selection
  • Search returns blank page with no loading indicator
  • Shelf fails to load
  • Pages crop off at bottom
  • Black screen when opening downloaded books
Show 20 more
  • App crashes when opening new comics
  • Pages display out of sync in horizontal mode
  • Duplicate pages appearing consecutively
  • Pages loop back to beginning after certain number
  • Thumbnail not showing for resume position
  • Dialog boxes cut off or positioned incorrectly
  • App forgets reading position when resuming
  • Vertical view does not work
  • iCloud backup size inflates dramatically
  • Screen goes black periodically during reading
  • Network error despite active connection
  • Download progress bar hangs
  • Orientation change causes reading position reset
  • App switches to different manga unexpectedly
  • Popular page items don't load or unavailable
  • Shelf deletion when launching from cloud library
  • Zoom functionality unresponsive
  • Page turning causes visual flash and blur
  • Inconsistent page display in 2-page mode
  • Home bar overlay obscures content on iPad

Requested features

18 requests
  • Favorites/bookmarking system with notifications
  • Auto-download while using other apps
  • Auto-mark books as finished
  • Better search with pagination and page jumping
  • Dark mode option
Show 13 more
  • Right-to-left reading for manga
  • Folder organization for shelf
  • Reading history tracking
  • Series completion indicators
  • Next book in series recommendations
  • Auto zoom feature for reading
  • Smooth page transition animations
  • Ability to manually move books to completion status
  • App status/server status page
  • Better content filtering and sorting options
  • Rating system for comics
  • Chapter bookmarks
  • Customizable reading settings

Pagebound

Reported bugs

1 issue
  • Occasional spoilers in forums

Requested features

2 requests
  • Save reading progress across forums
  • Dark mode option

In-app purchases

None

Comics Plus

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Pagebound

Subscriptions1
  • Pagebound Royalty$9.991 Month

Questions

Is Comics Plus free?
Comics Plus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pagebound free?
Pagebound is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Comics Plus or Pagebound?
Pagebound is rated higher. Comics Plus averages 2.5 out of 5 from 103 ratings, while Pagebound averages 4.8 from 526 ratings.
Do Comics Plus or Pagebound have ads?
Neither Comics Plus nor Pagebound shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Comics Plus or Pagebound?
Comics Plus ships an update every 2 months, and Pagebound fortnightly. Most recently, Comics Plus was updated on October 29, 2026 and Pagebound on October 30, 2026.

Other comparisons