Comparison

XKCD Browser vs TVTropes

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

Head to head
About

XKCD Browser

Easily browse, search, and save your favorite webcomics. View alt text, share with friends, and enjoy offline access to a vast archive. Features include dark mode and pinch-to-zoom.

Highlights
  • Offline browsing
  • Favorite comics
  • View alt text
  • Save and share comics
  • In-depth comic search
  • Dark mode
  • Random comic display
Features
Read full description

The XKCD Browser App is an app for browsing XKCD comics! You can browse comics while offline, save your favorite comics, and share comics with your friends! You can search for comics by keyword - the app allows you to search not only just the title, but also the comic contents as well! And unlike the web browser mobile site, you can easily view the alt text for all the comics. All comics are sourced from https://xkcd.com and are drawn by Randall Munroe. If you want to report a bug or request a new feature, you can do so through here: https://github.com/defCoding/xkcd-browser-ios/issues/new/choose List of features: - Offline browsing - Favoriting comics - View comic alt text - Saving/sharing comics - Comic in-depth search - Dark mode - Show a random comic - Pinch to zoom

About

TVTropes

Explore a vast wiki dedicated to tropes found in TV, anime, film, literature, and more. Discover how media breaks down into common patterns and gain new insights. Features include a game, video examples, and a story generator.

Highlights
  • Explore media tropes
  • Name That Trope game
  • Video examples of tropes
  • Story Generator
  • Editing and reviews
  • Customizable tabs
Features
Read full description

TV Tropes Will Ruin Your Life - Dig into your favorite works (TV, anime, film, literature, ...) and find how they break down into tropes. It will change how you view media. Once you get familiar try our new "Name That Trope" game. If you need some visual examples scroll through our Videos pages with thousands of trope examples. You can also use our Story Generator to help you come up with ideas for writing your own story using tropes as the building blocks. For existing users you'll find all the main features such as editing, reviews, trope launch pad, etc. And some new features on the app including: badge shop, PM and Forum notifications, PM's in a single text-style format, new wiki walk experience, and much more. The TVTropes app has many different sections so we've add the ability to customize what tabs you see. Privacy Policy: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

XKCD Browser4 screens
TVTropes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: XKCD Browser at 89% against TVTropes's 46%. XKCD Browser also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). TVTropes's advantage is ratings volume (371 vs 8). 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. TVTropes sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. XKCD Browser asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

XKCD Browser holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TVTropes has 371 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of XKCD Browser's written reviews are positive against 46% of TVTropes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
XKCD Browser versus TVTropes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterXKCD BrowserTVTropes
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (8 ratings) — better4.7 (371 ratings)
Positive reviews88.9% of reviews — better45.8% of reviews
Number of ratings8371 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.2 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB47 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperKevin CaoTVTropes.org, Inc

Customer experience

XKCD Browser

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%

TVTropes

All ratings371 ratings
Positive92.7%
Neutral3.8%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews59 reviews
Positive45.8%
Neutral16.9%
Negative37.3%

Bugs and requests

XKCD Browser

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

TVTropes

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Account creation issues with VPN
  • Video examples missing from app

Requested features

3 requests
  • Fix dark mode
  • Remove AI story generator
  • Improve video playback controls

In-app purchases

None

XKCD Browser

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

TVTropes

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Ad-Free Subscription$5.991 Month
  • Yearly Ad-Free Subscription$29.991 Year

Questions

Is XKCD Browser free?
XKCD Browser is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is TVTropes free?
TVTropes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, XKCD Browser or TVTropes?
XKCD Browser is rated higher. XKCD Browser averages 5.0 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while TVTropes averages 4.7 from 371 ratings.
Do XKCD Browser or TVTropes have ads?
Neither XKCD Browser nor TVTropes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, XKCD Browser or TVTropes?
XKCD Browser ships an update every 2 weeks, and TVTropes every 2 weeks. Most recently, XKCD Browser was updated on October 19, 2026 and TVTropes on October 20, 2026.

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