# SideBooks vs Comic Book Viewer

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | SideBooks | Comic Book Viewer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (97 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sidebooks/id409777225/reviews)** | [3.8 (135 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/comic-book-viewer/id957475715/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 97 | **135** |
| Positive reviews | **72.4% of reviews** | 71.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 32 MB | 8 MB |
| Requires iOS | **9.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Tatsumi-system Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/409777230) | [Sebastian Boettcher](https://appshunter.io/developer/719716635) |

## 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


### Comic Book Viewer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/comic-book-viewer/id957475715)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Simple and easy to use
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 🔒 No ads or data collection
- 🔒 Lightweight and efficient

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
- 🔍 Lack of advanced organization and management features
- 🔍 Limited customization options
- 🔍 Issues with page scrolling and zooming

**Reported bugs**

- Slider not working after recent update
- Pages randomly skipping ahead when switching orientation
- Inability to import some comic file formats

**Requested features**

- Add ability to rename/reorder comics
- Implement vertical scrolling mode
- Provide more customization settings
- Improve library management with folders/collections


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SideBooks free?

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

### Is Comic Book Viewer free?

Comic Book Viewer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, SideBooks or Comic Book Viewer?

SideBooks is rated higher. SideBooks averages 4.6 out of 5 from 97 ratings, while Comic Book Viewer averages 3.8 from 135 ratings.

### Do SideBooks or Comic Book Viewer have ads?

Neither SideBooks nor Comic Book Viewer shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, SideBooks or Comic Book Viewer?

SideBooks ships an update every 9 days, and Comic Book Viewer every 3 months. Most recently, SideBooks was updated on September 25, 2026 and Comic Book Viewer on September 23, 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.*