Comparison

SideBooks vs TotalReader

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

Head to head
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

About

TotalReader

This app is a versatile reader supporting a vast array of book, document, comic, and source code formats. It offers advanced customization for reading comfort, cloud integration, and file management tools.

Highlights
  • Wide range of supported formats
  • Cloud and network service integration
  • Speech synthesizer
  • Customizable reading experience
  • File manager with Wi-Fi transfer
  • Online book catalogs (OPDS)
Features
Read full description

The BEST application for reading books: *.fb2, *.epub, *.mobi, *.azw, *.prc, *.chm, *.fbz, *.rtf, *.txt (all encodings), documents: *.djvu, *.pdf, *.xps, office documents: *.doc, *.docx, *.xls, *.xlsx, *.ppt, *.pptx, *.pages, *.numbers, *.key, comic books: *.cbr, *.cbz, *.cb7, *.cbt and sources: *.h, *.c, *.cpp, *.m, *.java, *.cs ... All formats are thoroughly elaborated and are 100% supported by the application, including the styles, chapters, tables, links, footnotes etc. The visualization system takes into account the specific character of the formats functioning on mobile devices (memory capacity, the number of general processor units etc.), Providing a maximum productivity and comfort when working with large documents. Elegant design, extended functionality, high speed and stability of work will make reading of your favorite literature a pleasurable experience. You can contact technical support and leave a comment without quitting the application. TotalReader’s special features: ■ Wide range of supported formats (fb2, epub, mobi, azw, prc, chm, fbz, rtf, txt(all encodings), djvu, pdf, xps, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, pages, numbers, key, cbr, cbz, cb7, cbt) ■ Compatible with all popular archive formats (rar, zip, 7z, gz, tar ...) ■ Speech synthesizer ■ Large set of page turning animations for books(Slide, Fade, Curl, Flip, Cube, Ripple, Rotate) ■ Night mode ■ Integration with popular cloud services(Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, Yandex.Disk) ■ Integration with popular network services(SMB, FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, DLNA) ■ Open books directly from cloud services and network services ■ Hight application stability ■ Automatic recovery bad and non standard files ■ Search and highlight text options ■ Table of contents ■ Highlight and copy text options for books ■ Font, Font color, Background, font size, margins, line spacing, hyphenation, hyphenation language, skip author style options ■ User friendly navigation ■ Page layout option in documents(single page, double pages, double pages with cover) ■ Effects for documents(sepia, monochrome, color controls) ■ Brightness control ■ Rotation lock ■ Bookmarks ■ Quick document preview ■ Page scaling for documents ■ Auto scaling for adjacent pages ■ Double page view ■ Opening documents from external applications ■ Last open document list ■ Online book catalogs(OPDS) ■ Web Browser and download manager ■ Wi-Fi transfer ■ FTP transfer File Manager Features: ■ Intuitive interface ■ iTunes integration ■ File sorting(by name, by extension, by size, by date) ■ Searching files in subfolders ■ Create, move, copy, rename, pack/unpack, delete file/folder options ■ File/folder search ■ Preview book cover Wi-Fi Transfer Features: ■ Intuitive interface ■ Create, move, rename, delete file/folder options ■ Downloading/uploading few media files with one click ■ Display upload progress Online catalog(OPDS) Features: ■ Maximal support OPDS standards ■ User friendly navigation ■ Global searching ■ Full book information preview ■ Adding and editing catalog options ■ Completely popular catalog list Feel free to ask questions, report bugs or request new features: support@develsoftware.com

Screenshots

SideBooks4 screens
TotalReader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: SideBooks at 4.6 against TotalReader's 4.3. SideBooks also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 weeks). TotalReader's advantage is ratings volume (368 vs 97). On price, review sentiment, 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

Both are free to download. SideBooks sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and TotalReader sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. 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 — 97 and 368 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of SideBooks's written reviews are positive against 69% of TotalReader's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SideBooks ships an update every 9 days, TotalReader every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
SideBooks versus TotalReader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSideBooksTotalReader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (97 ratings) — better4.3 (368 ratings)
Positive reviews73.7% of reviews — better69.0% of reviews
Number of ratings97368 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better10.0
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB130 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperTatsumi-system Co., Ltd.LTD DevelSoftware

Customer experience

SideBooks

All ratings97 ratings
Positive92.8%
Neutral2.1%
Negative5.2%
Written reviews518 reviews
Positive73.7%
Neutral9.1%
Negative17.2%

TotalReader

All ratings368 ratings
Positive85.1%
Neutral2.4%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews723 reviews
Positive69.0%
Neutral5.7%
Negative25.3%

User reviews

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

TotalReader

From 368 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great reader
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🔍 Supports many file formats
  • 💡 Integrates with cloud storage
  • 📚 Excellent for reading books

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
  • 💰 Expensive premium version
  • 📢 Intrusive ads in free version
  • 🔒 Lacks security/privacy features
  • 🔧 Poor file management and organization

Bugs and requests

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

TotalReader

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes on startup
  • Unable to open certain file formats
  • Cloud storage integration not working
  • Ads prevent smooth reading experience
  • Purchased features not functioning properly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more customization options
  • Improve cloud storage integration
  • Implement better file organization tools
  • Provide better support for older devices
  • Add text-to-speech and annotation features

In-app purchases

1 purchases

SideBooks

One-time1
  • Thema extension Add-On$0.99
3 purchases

TotalReader

One-time3
  • Thank the Developer$0.99
  • Appearance Customization$1.99
  • Pro Version$6.99

Questions

Is SideBooks free?
SideBooks is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TotalReader free?
TotalReader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SideBooks or TotalReader?
SideBooks is rated higher. SideBooks averages 4.6 out of 5 from 97 ratings, while TotalReader averages 4.3 from 368 ratings.
Do SideBooks or TotalReader have ads?
Neither SideBooks nor TotalReader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SideBooks or TotalReader?
SideBooks ships an update every 9 days, and TotalReader every 3 weeks. Most recently, SideBooks was updated on October 15, 2026 and TotalReader on October 7, 2026.

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