Comparison

ComicGlass vs SideBooks

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

Head to head
About

ComicGlass

This app offers a comprehensive comic reading experience for scanned manga and personal files. Enjoy seamless access to your library from various storage locations and customize your reading with advanced features. It supports a wide range of file formats and syncs your progress across devices.

Highlights
  • Scanned manga and comic reader
  • Access files from PC/Mac, NAS, cloud
  • Wide format support (ZIP, PDF, WebP, AVIF)
  • Effortless file transfer and syncing
  • Progress sync via iCloud
  • Network and cloud storage support
  • Customizable reading experience
  • Stream files without downloading
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The definitive comic viewer, loved by users since its release in 2010. Effortlessly enjoy your scanned books and personal files at home or on the go. Experience the rich features and seamless performance built on over 15 years of continuous development. ■ Why Choose ComicGlass? User-Centric Design: Packed with "must-have" features and granular settings for the ultimate daily reading experience. Access Anywhere: View files from your PC/Mac, NAS, or cloud storage instantly, no matter where you are. Broad Format Support: From standard ZIP and PDF to the latest WebP, AVIF, and 7-Zip, we’ve got you covered. Buy Once, Enjoy Everywhere: A universal app for both iPhone and iPad. Get the best experience on all your devices with a single purchase. ■ Powerful Features 【Versatile File Management】 Easy Transfer: Use our dedicated Windows/Mac tool for effortless syncing, or simply use OS-standard file sharing and cloud storage. Sync Your Progress: "Bookmarks" stay synced across devices via iCloud. Start reading on your iPhone outside and pick up right where you left off on your iPad at home. Network Ready: Supports SMB (Windows File Sharing), FTP, WebDAV, and various cloud services. Cloud Support: Google Drive / Dropbox / OneDrive / OneDrive for Business / Box / iCloud. 【Advanced Reading Experience】 Fully Customizable: Fine-tune your experience with double-page spread views, right-to-left/left-to-right reading directions, margin cropping, and more. Streaming: Stream files directly from your PC, NAS, or Cloud storage without the need for downloading them to your device. ■ Supported Formats Archives: ZIP, CBZ, RAR, CBR, 7-Zip Documents: PDF Images: JPEG, PNG, BMP, WebP, AVIF, TIFF, GIF

About

SideBooks

This app offers a high-performance PDF and comic viewer with realistic paper-turning animations. It supports various viewing directions, enhanced bookshelf management, and secure password protection for your documents. Easily import files from multiple sources and enjoy a customizable reading experience.

Highlights
  • Realistic paper curl animation
  • Multiple viewing directions
  • Enhanced bookshelf management
  • Password protection
  • Dropbox and iTunes file import
  • Supports PDF, ZIP, CBZ, RAR, CBR
Features
Read full description

SideBooks is a high performance, high speed PDF viewer that allows you to enjoy reading with the feel of actual paper. =Features= Curl animation that simulates the actual turning of paper pages has been added to the standard page slide function. Supports viewing from 3 directions, documents that open left to right, right to left and vertically. It provides the optimal environment for viewing any book. All zoom rates have been optimized providing high speed, dynamic screen display. An infinite hierarchy of folders can be created, moved, deleted, renamed, etc. using the enhanced bookshelf management function. Real visual bookshelf function that corresponds to back cover style display. Files can be imported by 3 methods, Network transfer through Dropbox, USB transfer through iTunes and direct transfer from other applications. Books can be protected so others cannot view them by using the password protected locking function. This is a universal application that operates on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. =Functions= Overall: *Brightness Adjustment *Screen rotates to match the orientation of the device *Screen Rotation Lock *Password Protected Start-up Lock Viewer: *Support PDF,ZIP,CBZ,RAR and CBR format *Page Turning: Choose from slide or curl *Viewing Directions: Choose from opening left to right / right to left / vertically *Page Spacing: Choose form wide / narrow / none *Facing Pages: Choose the pair of facing pages by setting the cover to on or off *Trim function within the range of page display *Cache pre-read function for the previous and next pages *Set the display for each book and remember the page number of the last page read *Text search function (list display type) *Contents function (also supports hierarchy type) *Bookmark function (with editable memos) *Edit handwritten notes *Send to other applications (Open-In) *Send by email *Printing function (Air Print) *In-page link function *Link to outside URL function (built-in browser / Safari / Printing) *Display / Don't Display link buttons *Page turning function using tap or swipe *Expansion / Contraction function using pinch and double tap (1-1024x zoom) *Viewing of encrypted PDF files with password protection *Display / non-display of statusbar when reading Bookshelf: *Display form: Choose form list bookshelf / visual bookshelf *Function to set theme of visual bookshelf with each folder *Bookshelf thema extension pack (Add-On) *Cover editing function (corresponds to the trim) *File editing function: create, move, delete, setting for all books in folder *Bookmark list *Reading history list *Unread list *Edit of mark choose form already read / unread *Book name search function *Network transfer through Dropbox *USB transfer through iTunes *Direct transfer from other applications Special thanks to, "Give My Regards to Black Jack" SHUHO SATO Manga on Web http://mangaonweb.com

Screenshots

ComicGlass3 screens
SideBooks4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: SideBooks at Free against ComicGlass's $3.99. SideBooks also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 weeks). ComicGlass's advantage is chart position (#130 vs unranked). On review sentiment, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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

SideBooks is free to download; ComicGlass costs $3.99 up front. ComicGlass sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and SideBooks sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SideBooks holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 61 and 97 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 74% of ComicGlass's written reviews are positive against 72% of SideBooks's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ComicGlass ships an update every 3 weeks, SideBooks every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
ComicGlass versus SideBooks: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterComicGlassSideBooks
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (61 ratings)4.6 (97 ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.9% of reviews — better72.4% of reviews
Number of ratings6197 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#130 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.69.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB32 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperRR SoftTatsumi-system Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

ComicGlass

All ratings61 ratings
Positive78.7%
Neutral9.8%
Negative11.5%
Written reviews421 reviews
Positive73.9%
Neutral10.7%
Negative15.4%

SideBooks

All ratings97 ratings
Positive92.8%
Neutral2.1%
Negative5.2%
Written reviews243 reviews
Positive72.4%
Neutral7.8%
Negative19.8%

User reviews

ComicGlass

From 61 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great app for reading comics and manga
  • 🚀 Fast and efficient
  • 💡 Customizable reading experience
  • 🔒 Password protection for folders

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes when reading from SMB
  • 🐛 Issues with opening password-protected folders
  • 🐛 Compatibility problems with certain file formats
  • 🐛 Rendering issues when switching between portrait and landscape modes

SideBooks

From 97 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth page turning
  • 📚 Great for reading comics and manga
  • 🗂️ Excellent folder organization
  • 🔍 Useful search and table of contents features
  • 💻 Seamless Dropbox integration

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes when loading large files
  • 🚫 Limited file format support (no CBZ/CBR)
  • 🔍 Difficult to find and delete books
  • 🔒 Requires Dropbox access, no local file support
  • 🔍 Small thumbnail size makes it hard to browse

Bugs and requests

ComicGlass

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when opening certain files
  • Inability to change folder names
  • Issues with FTP and network file sharing
  • Problems with rendering double-page spreads

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for JPEG XL format
  • Implement vertical scrolling for manga/comics
  • Improve backup and sync functionality
  • Add iCloud integration for file management

SideBooks

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when opening certain PDF files
  • Corrupted files cause repeated crashes
  • Dropbox integration issues on some devices

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add support for ePub and other popular formats
  • Implement iCloud/Google Drive integration
  • Allow manual rearrangement of bookshelf
  • Add dark mode and customizable background options
  • Improve bookmark and annotation features
Show 1 more
  • Implement a more intuitive file management system

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ComicGlass

One-time1
  • MediaServer plus$1.99
1 purchases

SideBooks

One-time1
  • Thema extension Add-On$0.99

Questions

Is ComicGlass free?
ComicGlass costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is SideBooks free?
SideBooks is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ComicGlass or SideBooks?
SideBooks is rated higher. ComicGlass averages 4.3 out of 5 from 61 ratings, while SideBooks averages 4.6 from 97 ratings.
Do ComicGlass or SideBooks have ads?
Neither ComicGlass nor SideBooks shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ComicGlass or SideBooks?
ComicGlass ships an update every 3 weeks, and SideBooks every 9 days. Most recently, ComicGlass was updated on September 24, 2026 and SideBooks on September 23, 2026.

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