# SideBooks vs Flippy

SideBooks and Flippy both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 74% of SideBooks's written reviews are positive against 0% of Flippy's. SideBooks also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (98 vs 20). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. SideBooks sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Flippy sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for SideBooks against 4.6 for Flippy. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 98 and 20 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 74% of SideBooks's written reviews are positive against 0% of Flippy's.

SideBooks ships an update every 9 days, Flippy weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SideBooks | Flippy |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (98 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sidebooks/id409777225/reviews)** | [4.6 (20 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/flippy-ai-pdf-and-epub-reader/id6758871767/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **98** | 20 |
| Positive reviews | **73.8% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 33 MB | 35 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Tatsumi-system Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/409777230) | [Trison Braithwaite](https://appshunter.io/developer/1875451095) |

## What reviewers say

### SideBooks

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sidebooks/id409777225)

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:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Thema extension Add-On | $0.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

- 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


### Flippy

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/flippy-ai-pdf-and-epub-reader/id6758871767)

This app transforms digital books into interactive reading experiences. Enjoy realistic page turns, listen to any book with natural voices, and get AI-powered explanations for complex content. It also offers study tools like flashcards and quizzes.

**Highlights:** Realistic page flipping animation, AI-powered text-to-speech for any book, AI explanations and Q&A, Flashcards and quizzes from book content, Automatic table of contents generation, Offline reading and listening

**Features:** Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Flippy Premium Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Flippy Pro Monthly | $8.99 | per month |
| Flippy Premium Yearly | $39.99 | per year |
| Flippy Pro Yearly | $69.99 | per year |
| Boost | $2.99 | one-time |
| Plus | $4.49 | one-time |
| Bulk | $9.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SideBooks free?

SideBooks is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Flippy free?

Flippy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, SideBooks or Flippy?

SideBooks is rated higher. SideBooks averages 4.7 out of 5 from 98 ratings, while Flippy averages 4.6 from 20 ratings.

### Do SideBooks or Flippy have ads?

Flippy shows ads; SideBooks does not.

### Which is updated more often, SideBooks or Flippy?

SideBooks ships an update every 9 days, and Flippy weekly. Most recently, SideBooks was updated on November 6, 2026 and Flippy on November 5, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*