Comparison

theXReader vs Penguin

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

Head to head
About

theXReader

Features
Read full description

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

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. - Automatic margin cropping fills the screen with books you scanned yourself. ■ A library in your own folders - Make folders as you would in Finder, nested as deep as you like, and drag books between them. - New imports go into the folder you are looking at, dozens at a time, and books move or delete in bulk. - The folder layout follows you over iCloud. Files are not uploaded, so no iCloud storage is used. ■ Translation that ends on the device - A speech bubble is read sentence by sentence, translated, and painted back in where the original lettering was. Vertical Japanese is recognized as it is. - In novels, translate a sentence or a page and read it beside the original, or look up single words. - Translate a book in advance and pages turn with no wait. Nothing is ever 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 or two-page spread (smart spread), right-to-left binding, single page in portrait. - 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. ■ Local AI Translation Benchmark - Measure how fast your iPhone, iPad or Mac translates a page of manga. 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 the score as a PNG card and share it, device name and chip included. - Enter a nickname of up to 12 characters and 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 the leaderboard are free, with no limit on 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. Only a nickname and a score leave, and only when you post to the leaderboard. - 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 does not supply manga or novel content. It reads the files you already own. - Benchmark scores vary with the device and OS state, and move a little run to run. - The interface is available in 17 languages. Requests left in reviews get built quickly. Novel reading came out of one.

Screenshots

theXReader2 screens
Penguin4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
theXReader versus Penguin: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametertheXReaderPenguin
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequency—Every 3 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB110 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThomas ParniaHAEDUN KIM

In-app purchases

2 purchases

theXReader

Subscriptions2
  • Monatsabo$1.991 Month
  • theXReader Unlimited Jahresabo$19.991 Year
1 purchases

Penguin

One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime — Buy Once$6.99

Questions

Is theXReader free?
theXReader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Penguin free?
Penguin is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do theXReader or Penguin have ads?
Neither theXReader nor Penguin shows ads.

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