Comparison

IDW Digital Comics Experience vs Panels

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

Head to head
About

IDW Digital Comics Experience

Access a vast library of comic books and graphic novels from a renowned publisher. Discover new releases weekly, enjoy curated bundles, and explore free recommendations. Read your collection with a modern, state-of-the-art reader.

Highlights
  • Weekly new releases
  • Curated comic and book bundles
  • Free comics and books recommendations
  • State-of-the-art app reader
  • Access to popular titles like Star Trek and TMNT
Features
Read full description

IDW Publishing is the home of world-renowned comic book and graphic novel storytelling! We publish some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry, including Paramount's Star Trek; Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; SEGA's Sonic the Hedgehog; and many more. We also publish best-selling original series, including Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez's Locke & Key and Patrick Horvath's Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees. IDWP's critically acclaimed Top Shelf Productions imprint publishes works of visionary artistry, literary sophistication, and personal resonance, including George Takei's They Called Us Enemy and the New York Times best-selling March by Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell. - New releases every week! - Save money with carefully curated comic and book bundles! - Discover new stories with a selection of free comics and books recommended by IDW! - Read your collection at your leisure by using the new state-of-the-art app reader! Get started with your IDW Publishing adventure today!

About

Panels

Enhance your comic and manga reading with a clean, customizable interface. Enjoy universal file compatibility, cross-device syncing, and advanced reading presets. Organize your library, secure your content, and import from various cloud services and local networks.

Highlights
  • Universal file compatibility (CBR, CBZ, PDF, ePUB)
  • Cross-device reading progress sync
  • iCloud Drive integration
  • Customizable reading presets
  • Right-to-left reading for manga
  • OPDS server support
  • Content security with password/Face ID
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Improve your comic reading experience with Panels. Enjoy reading your favorite titles in a clean and delightful interface, with plenty of customization and advanced features — fully DRM-free, with first-class support for OPDS, your own library, and your own files. Key features: - Universal Compatibility: Support for most common comic types: CBR, CBZ, CB7, PDF and comic ePUB (not text eBook). Support for multiple image formats, including WebP. - Cross-Device Sync: Synchronize your reading progress across iPhone, iPad and Mac and resume reading exactly where you left off. - Full iCloud Drive support: store your entire library on iCloud and access it from different devices. - Library Organization: Effortlessly manage your comic library with intuitive tools for easy navigation, custom folder colors, logos and cover images. * Themes: support for Light and Dark modes, and many others. * Reading Presets: Choose from a multitude of reading presets or create your own, including horizontal, vertical, or panel-by-panel guided view. - Right to Left reading (manga): read any comic with Panels. * OPDS support: Stream, search and download comics from your OPDS compatible server (Komga, Kavita, Codex, Ubooquity and others). * Secure your content: Keep files locked using a password or Face ID for your collections and files. Use Incognito mode to keep your reading sessions hidden. * Live Text and Subject detection. * Experimental Features: Access experimental features like panel-by-panel navigation. Panels Store — DRM-free comics from independent creators: - Browse and buy comics directly inside Panels, no extra apps or accounts. - 100% DRM-free: every purchase is yours to keep, read offline and back up. - Creators keep 80% of revenue, so your purchases directly support the people making the comics. - Purchased issues are added to your library and sync across your devices automatically. Native support for importing files from: * iCloud Drive * Dropbox * Microsoft OneDrive - Substack * OPDS: Komga, Kavita, Codex and others * Local network shared files and folders via SMB and Embedded web server - iTunes - External drives - Airdrop - Drag&Drop from other apps Page Filters: * Reduce Noise * Increase Sharpness * Reduce Moiré * Crop Borders * Require an active subscription or a one-time purchase. • You may purchase an Auto-Renewing Subscription to unlock all the premium features while it\'s active; or a one-off purchase to unlock the current major version features forever. • Your subscription will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase and will automatically renew (at the duration selected) unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. • Current subscription may not be cancelled during the active subscription period; however, you can manage your subscription and/or turn off auto-renewal by visiting your iTunes Account Settings after purchase • Read our privacy policy and terms of use: https://panels.app/privacy / https://panels.app/terms

Screenshots

IDW Digital Comics Experience4 screens
Panels4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Panels at 70% against IDW Digital Comics Experience's 19%. Panels also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.0) and ratings volume (12K vs 4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. IDW Digital Comics Experience sells 33 one-off in-app purchases and Panels sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Panels holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Panels has 12K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 19% of IDW Digital Comics Experience's written reviews are positive against 70% of Panels's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

IDW Digital Comics Experience ships an update every 6 weeks, Panels every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
IDW Digital Comics Experience versus Panels: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIDW Digital Comics ExperiencePanels
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (4 ratings)4.8 (12K ratings) — better
Positive reviews19.0% of reviews70.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings412K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#189 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size48 MB165 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperIDW PublishingProdukt Studio

Customer experience

IDW Digital Comics Experience

All ratings4 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews168 reviews
Positive19.0%
Neutral13.1%
Negative67.9%

Panels

All ratings12,369 ratings
Positive95.4%
Neutral1.8%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews1,119 reviews
Positive70.2%
Neutral9.6%
Negative20.3%

User reviews

IDW Digital Comics Experience

From 4 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and easy to use
  • 👍 Great selection of comics
  • 💡 Potential for future improvements

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs
  • 🔍 Poor organization and navigation
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 📖 Blurry/low-quality reading experience
  • 💰 Expensive pricing compared to other options

Panels

From 12K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth and responsive
  • 👍 Clean and modern UI
  • 💡 Useful features like panel view and vertical scrolling
  • 🔒 No ads in paid version
  • 👍 Good import and organization options

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔒 Useful features locked behind paywall
  • 🔒 Subscription model instead of one-time purchase
  • 🐛 Issues with page navigation and zoom
  • 🐛 Problems with reading right-to-left content

Bugs and requests

IDW Digital Comics Experience

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Comics disappearing from library
  • Inability to restore purchases
  • Frequent crashes and freezes
  • Login and account issues

Requested features

5 requests
  • Offline reading/download functionality
  • Better sorting and filtering options
  • Panel-by-panel reading mode
  • Sync purchases across devices
  • Discounts/bundle options

Panels

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes when opening large files
  • Issues with page order and navigation
  • Problems with zooming and scrolling
  • Syncing and importing bugs
  • Compatibility issues with older devices

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ability to create sub-folders and nested collections
  • Automatic sorting and organization of comics
  • Option to lock reading direction
  • Double-tap to zoom functionality
  • Progress tracking and bookmarking features
Show 1 more
  • Support for more file formats like ePub

In-app purchases

33 purchases

IDW Digital Comics Experience

One-time33
  • Dungeons & Dragons #0$0.99
  • Infestation #1$0.99
  • Danger Girl #1$1.99
Show 30 more
  • Locke and Key: Crown of Shadows #1$1.99
  • Dragon Age #1$1.99
  • Dragon Age #2$1.99
  • Dungeons & Dragons #1$1.99
  • Star Trek #1$1.99
  • Star Trek TNG/Doctor Who: Assimilation #1$1.99
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #68$3.99
  • Sonic: Blade of Courage: Chapter 3$3.99
  • Sonic: Blade of Courage: Chapter 1$3.99
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #78$3.99
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #77$3.99
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #76$3.99
  • Sonic the Hedge.... 1: Fallout$3.99
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #74$3.99
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #73$3.99
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #72$3.99
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #71$3.99
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #70$3.99
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #89$4.99
  • Sonic the Hedgehog x Godzilla #2$4.99
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #88$4.99
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #87$4.99
  • Sonic the Hedgehog: Sonic Racing$4.99
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #79$4.99
  • Sonic the Hedgehog: Chaotix's 30th$5.99
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #75$6.99
  • Sonic: 35th Anniversary Special$7.99
  • Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2024$7.99
  • SonicTheHedgehog: TheIDW Vol1$9.99
  • Locke and Key: Welcome to Lovecraft$11.99
5 purchases

Panels

Subscriptions2
  • Panels+ Monthly7 Days trial$1.491 Month
  • Panels+ Yearly7 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time3
  • Panels 3 Upgrade$9.99
  • Panels 2$19.99
  • Panels 3$19.99

Questions

Is IDW Digital Comics Experience free?
IDW Digital Comics Experience is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Panels free?
Panels is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, IDW Digital Comics Experience or Panels?
Panels is rated higher. IDW Digital Comics Experience averages 4.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Panels averages 4.8 from 12K ratings.
Do IDW Digital Comics Experience or Panels have ads?
Neither IDW Digital Comics Experience nor Panels shows ads.
Which is updated more often, IDW Digital Comics Experience or Panels?
IDW Digital Comics Experience ships an update every 6 weeks, and Panels every 8 days. Most recently, IDW Digital Comics Experience was updated on September 19, 2026 and Panels on September 25, 2026.

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