Comparison

1dollarscan Reader for iPhone vs Penguin

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

Head to head
About

1dollarscan Reader for iPhone

Transform scanned book pages into optimized eBooks for your iPhone or iPad. Enjoy reading with features like bookmarks, memos, and brightness adjustments. Access your library anytime, anywhere.

Highlights
  • Optimized scanned eBooks
  • Memos for files
  • Page bookmarking
  • Thumbnail navigation
  • Brightness adjustment
  • Page-turning animation
  • Pinch zoom
Features
Read full description

[Detail] Your book becomes an eBook for iPhone and iPad !!! 1dollarscan application developed by zLibro Inc. is a special tool for users to download PDF files scanned from actual books and enjoy reading eBook on iPhone and iPad. The PDF files craeted with 1dollarscan Fine Tune technology, are optimized and tuned for your device(iPhone, iPad). You can enjoy reading the PDF files without any stress, like as reading actual books. 1dollarscan application has many features,  - Record your feedback for each file  - Taking a memo for each file  - Bookmark on the page, which is good to get back later and so on. You can enjoy reading optimized scanned eBooks by 1dollarscan application anytime, anywhere you want. [How to get] 1. Download 1dollarscan application from App Store. 2. Accesss to 1dollarscan and create your account.     [Note] : Please make your actual book scanned by 1dollarscan service and tuned by 1dollarscan Fine Tune.              Without tuning the file, 1dollarscan application does not work. 3. After creating your account, launch 1dollarscan application and login by email address and password. 4. Access the page of 1dollarscan file lists and download files. 5. Once download is completed, you can enjoy reading any eBook from My Library. [Features] - 1dollarscan Fine Tune : optimize and tune for each device(iPhone, iPad) - Memo : Record your feedback and memo for each file - Bookmark : Bookmark on page and easy to get back the page - Thumbnail : Display thumbnails on the bottom and direct access to the page - Bright adjustment - Switch animation of page-turning - Pinch in, Pinch out

About

Penguin

This app allows you to read your own comic collection in various formats, with on-device translation for Japanese manga. It offers a customizable reading experience and a smart bookshelf, all while prioritizing user privacy and local data processing.

Highlights
  • On-device manga translation for Japanese comics
  • Supports various file formats (CBZ, CBR, PDF, etc.)
  • SMB and WebDAV network drive support
  • OPDS catalog compatibility
  • Smart bookshelf with automatic categorization
  • Customizable reading gestures and scrolling
Features
Read full description

A comic reader for the books you already own. CBZ, CBR, PDF and EPUB open straight from Files, your Mac, or your NAS — no unpacking, no account, no ads, and no internet needed once a book is on the device. Japanese pages you cannot read? Penguin Viewer translates the speech bubbles on your device and paints the English back into the balloon. ■ Manga and novels in one library - Drop in CBZ, CBR, CB7 (7z), ZIP, RAR, PDF or an image folder. TXT, MD and EPUB novels land on the same shelf. - Auto margin cropping fills the screen with books you scanned yourself. ■ A library in your own folders - Make folders like in Finder, nested at any depth, and drag books between them. - New imports land in the open folder, dozens at a time. Move or delete in bulk, or drag books into your own order. - The folder layout and book order follow you over iCloud. Files are not uploaded and use no iCloud storage. ■ Translation that ends on the device - A manga or webtoon bubble is read sentence by sentence, translated, and painted back where the original lettering was. Vertical Japanese is recognized too. - In novels, translate a sentence or page to read beside the original, or look up words. - Translate a book in advance and pages turn with no wait. Nothing is sent anywhere. ■ Read novels your way - Font, size, line spacing, margins and background change in Text and Layout, live. - Jump chapters from the contents. Position and bookmarks carry between devices. ■ Your NAS and server library - Connect over SMB (NAS), WebDAV or OPDS, compatible with Komga and Kavita. - OPDS-PSE streaming resumes at your page without downloading, so a huge library takes no storage. - Reading position syncs over iCloud, and server credentials stay in the device keychain. ■ Read it the way you want - Single Page, Two-Page, or Smart Two-Page picking by screen ratio, plus right-to-left binding. - Webtoons scroll vertically, or run 120Hz auto-scroll through a binge. Pan sideways while zoomed in. - Multi-gigabyte volumes turn without stutter, and pinch zoom works in spreads too. - A night theme blacks out the reader on your schedule, and Mac turns pages from the keyboard. ■ A library that sorts itself - Smart shelves file books as unread, reading or finished, and ComicInfo groups a scattered series. - Set grid columns and cover size, sort by recently opened, search by title, author or series. ■ A record that grows as you read - Reading statistics, streaks and milestones build the habit. - The reading calendar shows how much you read, iOS widgets show today's, and Face ID locks the app, hiding books from widgets and search. ■ Local AI Translation Benchmark - Measure how fast your iPhone, iPad or Mac translates a manga page. Run it from Translation in Settings. - The result is a single PVScore. A bigger number means a faster device. - The results screen is CRT arcade, scanlines and all. Beat your best and NEW RECORD appears. - Save and share the score as a PNG card, device name and chip included. - Enter a nickname (up to 12 characters) to see the worldwide PVScore top 500. ■ Honest pricing - Almost everything is free. The free library holds 30 books, and sharing the app opens 10 more. - The benchmark and leaderboard are free, with unlimited runs. - An unlimited library is one lifetime Pro purchase, not a subscription. No ads anywhere. ■ Privacy by default - Local first: files, translation, statistics and benchmark results stay on the device. - Leaderboard posts send nickname, score, run log and device info (model, chip, RAM, OS), all shown first. - Linking MyAnimeList sends it your title searches and volumes read. - No account, no sign-up, not a single tracking SDK. Open it and read. - Export your library and reading history, and restore it on a new device. ■ Good to know - Penguin Viewer supplies no manga or novels. It reads files you already own. - The interface comes in 17 languages. Requests left in reviews get built quickly. Novel reading came out of one.

Screenshots

1dollarscan Reader for iPhone4 screens
Penguin4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: 1dollarscan Reader for iPhone at 5.0 against Penguin's 4.5. 1dollarscan Reader for iPhone also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 18.0). Penguin's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 62 months). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Penguin sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. 1dollarscan Reader for iPhone asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

1dollarscan Reader for iPhone holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

1dollarscan Reader for iPhone ships an update every 62 months, Penguin every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
1dollarscan Reader for iPhone versus Penguin: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter1dollarscan Reader for iPhonePenguin
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.5 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings12 — better
Update frequencyEvery 62 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS8.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB120 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer1dollarscanHAEDUN KIM

Customer experience

1dollarscan Reader for iPhone

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Penguin

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

1dollarscan Reader for iPhone

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Penguin

One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime — Buy Once$3.99

Questions

Is 1dollarscan Reader for iPhone free?
1dollarscan Reader for iPhone is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Penguin free?
Penguin is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, 1dollarscan Reader for iPhone or Penguin?
1dollarscan Reader for iPhone is rated higher. 1dollarscan Reader for iPhone averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Penguin averages 4.5 from 2 ratings.
Do 1dollarscan Reader for iPhone or Penguin have ads?
Neither 1dollarscan Reader for iPhone nor Penguin shows ads.
Which is updated more often, 1dollarscan Reader for iPhone or Penguin?
1dollarscan Reader for iPhone ships an update every 62 months, and Penguin every 3 days. Most recently, 1dollarscan Reader for iPhone was updated on October 10, 2026 and Penguin on October 13, 2026.

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