Comparison

Classics+typing.works vs Penguin

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

Head to head
About

Classics+typing.works

Engage with classic literature by transcribing 100 timeless masterpieces. The app offers an organized bookshelf, highlighting features, and a powerful search function. Set daily goals and monitor progress with home screen widgets, all within a comfortable dark mode environment.

Highlights
  • Transcribe 100 classic masterpieces
  • Organized bookshelf
  • Highlight and save passages
  • Comprehensive search function
  • Daily goal setting and tracking
  • Home screen widgets
  • Dark mode support
Features
Read full description

Discover tranquility in daily life by starting your literary journey with Classics+typing.works. Type a collection of 100 timeless masterpieces and immerse yourself in the world of classic literature. Our app provides an organized bookshelf, ensuring easy access to your favorite works. Enjoy an optimized environment for literary transcription with convenient and diverse typing options. Highlight and save cherished passages, and type only the saved highlights for a unique typing experience. Effortlessly find books, authors, and subjects using our comprehensive search feature, which allows you to search all information at once using keywords. Set and achieve your daily goals, and monitor them quickly with home screen widgets. Experience comfort even in low-light settings with our dark mode support. Classics+typing.works is your portal to a world of literary meditation.

About

Penguin

This app allows you to read and organize your digital comic books and novels. It supports various file formats and offers on-device translation for manga. You can also connect to network storage for a vast library without taking up device space.

Highlights
  • Supports CBZ, CBR, PDF, EPUB, and image folders
  • On-device manga translation
  • Organize library with nested folders
  • Connect to NAS via SMB, WebDAV, OPDS
  • Customizable reading settings
  • Reading statistics and progress tracking
Features
Read full description

A comic reader for the books you already own. CBZ, CBR, PDF and EPUB open straight from Files, your Mac, or your NAS — no unpacking, no account, no ads, and no internet needed once a book is on the device. Japanese pages you cannot read? Penguin Viewer translates the speech bubbles on your device and paints the English back into the balloon. ■ Manga and novels in one library - Drop in CBZ, CBR, CB7 (7z), ZIP, RAR, PDF or an image folder. TXT, MD and EPUB novels land on the same shelf. - Auto margin cropping fills the screen with books you scanned yourself. ■ A library in your own folders - Make folders like in Finder, nested at any depth, and drag books between them. - New imports land in the open folder, dozens at a time. Move or delete in bulk, or drag books into your own order. - The folder layout and book order follow you over iCloud. Files are not uploaded and use no iCloud storage. ■ Translation that ends on the device - A manga or webtoon bubble is read sentence by sentence, translated, and painted back where the original lettering was. Vertical Japanese is recognized too. - In novels, translate a sentence or page to read beside the original, or look up words. - Translate a book in advance and pages turn with no wait. Nothing is sent anywhere. ■ Read novels your way - Font, size, line spacing, margins and background change in Text and Layout, live. - Jump chapters from the contents. Position and bookmarks carry between devices. ■ Your NAS and server library - Connect over SMB (NAS), WebDAV or OPDS, compatible with Komga and Kavita. - OPDS-PSE streaming resumes at your page without downloading, so a huge library takes no storage. - Reading position syncs over iCloud, and server credentials stay in the device keychain. ■ Read it the way you want - Single Page, Two-Page, or Smart Two-Page picking by screen ratio, plus right-to-left binding. - Webtoons scroll vertically, or run 120Hz auto-scroll through a binge. Pan sideways while zoomed in. - Multi-gigabyte volumes turn without stutter, and pinch zoom works in spreads too. - A night theme blacks out the reader on your schedule, and Mac turns pages from the keyboard. ■ A library that sorts itself - Smart shelves file books as unread, reading or finished, and ComicInfo groups a scattered series. - Set grid columns and cover size, sort by recently opened, search by title, author or series. ■ A record that grows as you read - Reading statistics, streaks and milestones build the habit. - The reading calendar shows how much you read, iOS widgets show today's, and Face ID locks the app, hiding books from widgets and search. ■ Local AI Translation Benchmark - Measure how fast your iPhone, iPad or Mac translates a manga page. Run it from Translation in Settings. - The result is a single PVScore. A bigger number means a faster device. - The results screen is CRT arcade, scanlines and all. Beat your best and NEW RECORD appears. - Save and share the score as a PNG card, device name and chip included. - Enter a nickname (up to 12 characters) to see the worldwide PVScore top 500. ■ Honest pricing - Almost everything is free. The free library holds 30 books, and sharing the app opens 10 more. - The benchmark and leaderboard are free, with unlimited runs. - An unlimited library is one lifetime Pro purchase, not a subscription. No ads anywhere. ■ Privacy by default - Local first: files, translation, statistics and benchmark results stay on the device. - Leaderboard posts send nickname, score, run log and device info (model, chip, RAM, OS), all shown first. - Linking MyAnimeList sends it your title searches and volumes read. - No account, no sign-up, not a single tracking SDK. Open it and read. - Export your library and reading history, and restore it on a new device. ■ Good to know - Penguin Viewer supplies no manga or novels. It reads files you already own. - The interface comes in 17 languages. Requests left in reviews get built quickly. Novel reading came out of one.

Screenshots

Classics+typing.works4 screens
Penguin4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Penguin at 100% against Classics+typing.works's 0%. Penguin also leads on price (Free vs $6.99) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months). Classics+typing.works's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On 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

Penguin is free to download; Classics+typing.works costs $6.99 up front. Penguin sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Classics+typing.works asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Classics+typing.works ships an update every 2 months, Penguin every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Classics+typing.works versus Penguin: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterClassics+typing.worksPenguin
Price$6.99Free — better
Rating—4.5 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size308 MB125 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPerspective, Inc.HAEDUN KIM

Customer experience

Classics+typing.works

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

Penguin

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Classics+typing.works

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Penguin

One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime — Buy Once$3.99

Questions

Is Classics+typing.works free?
Classics+typing.works costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Penguin free?
Penguin is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Classics+typing.works or Penguin have ads?
Neither Classics+typing.works nor Penguin shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Classics+typing.works or Penguin?
Classics+typing.works ships an update every 2 months, and Penguin every 5 days. Most recently, Classics+typing.works was updated on November 3, 2026 and Penguin on November 5, 2026.

Other comparisons