theXReader vs Penguin
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
theXReader
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Entdecke deine Comics neu - mit theXReader, der smarten App für echte Comic-Fans. theXReader liest alle gängigen Comic-Formate (CBR, CBZ, PDF), organisiert deine Bibliothek automatisch nach Serie, Charakter, Verlag und Jahr und nutzt KI, um aus jedem Heft mehr herauszuholen. WAS THEXREADER BESONDERS MACHT - Alle Formate, eine App Lies CBR, CBZ und PDF nahtlos. Egal ob aktueller Comic-Run, Alte-Klassiker, Manga oder Independent-Heft - theXReader öffnet alles. - Übersetzung in 27 Sprachen Sprechblasen werden in Echtzeit übersetzt: Englisch, Deutsch, Spanisch, Französisch, Italienisch, Japanisch, Koreanisch und viele weitere. Lies, was sonst nur im Original verfügbar wäre. - Natürliches Vorlesen Lehn dich zurück. Eigene KI-Stimme pro Charakter, sanfte Pausen, anpassbare Lesegeschwindigkeit. Augen zu, Kopfhörer auf, einfach genießen. - Panel-für-Panel-Modus Smartphone-Bildschirm zu klein? KI erkennt automatisch jedes Panel und führt dich Bild für Bild durch die Story. Kein Zoomen, kein Wischen. - KI-Hintergrundwissen Zu jedem Heft: Plot, Charaktere, Easter Eggs, Erstveröffentlichung, Hintergrundlore. Alles im Kontext deiner Sammlung. - Bibliothek wirklich überall Eigener Mac/PC als Heim-Server, das iPhone/iPad greift weltweit auf deine Comics zu. Lese-Fortschritt synchronisiert geräteübergreifend. - Mit Freunden teilen Mirror-Account: dein Familienmitglied sieht deine komplette Bibliothek, hat aber seinen eigenen Lese-Fortschritt und seine eigenen Favoriten. - Offline lesen Comics direkt aufs Gerät laden und auch ohne Internet weiterlesen - im Flugzeug, in der U-Bahn, im Urlaub. - Such-Spotlight Volltextsuche durch tausende Comics: nach Charakter, Stadt, Serie, Jahr, Verlag. Findet auch Easter-Egg-Auftritte. - Lese-Statistiken Wie viele Comics hast du gelesen? Welche Charaktere tauchen in deiner Sammlung am häufigsten auf? Wann hast du angefangen? Alles auf einen Blick im Profil. ABONNEMENT - Monatlich: 2,49 EUR - Jährlich: 23,99 EUR (entspricht 2,00 EUR pro Monat) Jederzeit kündbar. Keine versteckten Kosten. FÜR WEN IST THEXREADER - Comic-Sammler mit hunderten CBR/CBZ-Dateien, die endlich Ordnung wollen - Leser mit fremdsprachigen Original-Ausgaben - Manga-Fans, die japanische Reihen vorab lesen möchten - Eltern, die ihrem Kind Comics vorlesen wollen, ohne selbst zu lesen - Pendler, die unterwegs Panel-für-Panel auf dem Smartphone lesen - Familien, die eine gemeinsame Sammlung über mehrere Accounts teilen DATENSCHUTZ Deine Comic-Dateien bleiben bei dir, auf deinem Mac, PC oder NAS. theXReader speichert keine Comic-Inhalte auf eigenen Servern. Nur dein Account (E-Mail, Profilbild, Lese-Fortschritt) wird zentral synchronisiert. KI-Anfragen werden anonymisiert weitergegeben. UNTERSTÜTZUNG Fragen oder Wünsche? Schreib uns über die App oder per E-Mail. Wir antworten persönlich und schnell. theXReader ist Teil der SpiritTower-Familie. Terms of Use (EULA): https://thexreader.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://thexreader.com/privacy
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: theXReader at 16.0 against Penguin's 18.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. theXReader sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Penguin sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | theXReader | Penguin |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 4.5 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | — | Every 3 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 120 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Thomas Parnia | HAEDUN KIM |
In-app purchases
theXReader
- Monatsabo$1.991 Month
- theXReader Unlimited Jahresabo$19.991 Year
Penguin
- Pro Lifetime — Buy Once$3.99









