SideBooks vs Comic Book Viewer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Realistic paper curl animation
- Multiple viewing directions
- Enhanced bookshelf management
- Password protection
- Dropbox and iTunes file import
- Supports PDF, ZIP, CBZ, RAR, CBR
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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
Comic Book Viewer
A fast and user-friendly application for viewing digital comic books and PDF files. It supports various comic archive formats and common image types, offering library management and metadata display.
- Supports CBT, CBZ, CBR, CB7, and PDF formats
- Recognizes PNG, JPG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, and WebP images
- Import/export comics via iTunes or third-party apps
- AirDrop support for sharing between devices
- Displays metadata (CoMet, ACBF, Comic Rack, ComicBookInfo)
- Library search functionality
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Comic Book Viewer is a lightweight, fast and easy to use reader for your favorite comic books in cbt, cbz, cbr, cb7 or pdf format. Recognized image formats include png, jpg, gif, tiff, bmp and webp. Import and export your comics via iTunes or simply by sharing them in any third-party app on your device. Send them to other devices via AirDrop. Comic Book Viewer supports and shows metadata in CoMet, Advanced Comic Book Format, Comic Rack or in ComicBookInfo format and allows you to search your library. Comics seen in screenshots © 2014-2025 by Ctrl+Alt+Del Productions. Courtesy of Tim Buckley, http://www.cad-comic.com. Comics not included.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SideBooks at 4.6 against Comic Book Viewer's 3.8. SideBooks also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.6). Comic Book Viewer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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
Both are free to download. SideBooks sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Comic Book Viewer asks for nothing beyond the download.
SideBooks holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 97 and 135 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of SideBooks's written reviews are positive against 71% of Comic Book Viewer's.
SideBooks ships an update every 9 days, Comic Book Viewer every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SideBooks | Comic Book Viewer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (97 ratings) — better | 3.8 (135 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 72.4% of reviews — better | 71.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 97 | 135 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 32 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tatsumi-system Co., Ltd. | Sebastian Boettcher |
Customer experience
SideBooks
Comic Book Viewer
User reviews
SideBooks
From 97 App Store ratingsWhat 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
Comic Book Viewer
From 135 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Simple and easy to use
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 🔒 No ads or data collection
- 🔒 Lightweight and efficient
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
- 🔍 Lack of advanced organization and management features
- 🔍 Limited customization options
- 🔍 Issues with page scrolling and zooming
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
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- Implement a more intuitive file management system
Comic Book Viewer
Reported bugs
3 issues- Slider not working after recent update
- Pages randomly skipping ahead when switching orientation
- Inability to import some comic file formats
Requested features
4 requests- Add ability to rename/reorder comics
- Implement vertical scrolling mode
- Provide more customization settings
- Improve library management with folders/collections
In-app purchases
SideBooks
- Thema extension Add-On$0.99
Comic Book Viewer
No in-app purchases







