青空文庫Stella vs Penguin
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
青空文庫Stella
Discover classic Japanese literature through random passages. If a passage resonates, add the book to your personal, customizable digital bookshelf. Enjoy a comfortable reading experience with adjustable settings and offline access.
- Random passage discovery
- Customizable digital bookshelf
- Vertical/horizontal text options
- Adjustable text size and fonts
- Offline reading
- Lunar-themed book suggestions
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Aozora Bunko Stella - Find your next book by chance Not sure what to read next? Open the app and a passage from a classic Japanese novel arrives, chosen at random. If it moves you, tap "Sparkle" and the book joins your shelf, ready to read. There are no summaries and no ratings. Just a few lines of text, and whether they move you. Please note: the books are written in Japanese. The app itself is available in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese. ■ Letters from the stars 550 works from Aozora Bunko, the free library of Japanese literature. Each passage shows only the title and the author. Tap "Sparkle" to keep it, or "Skip" to see the next one. ■ Your own bookshelf Books stand on the shelf by their spines. Place them where you like, turn a book to show its cover, and decorate with dividers and small objects: a star lamp, a moon, a candle, a plant, an hourglass and a telescope. Your favorites are collected in a cover view. ■ Comfortable reading Vertical or horizontal text, adjustable text size and fonts, and four looks: light, warm, cool and dark. Furigana (ruby) has three modes: with ruby, kanji only, or reading only, which helps when you are learning Japanese. Bookmarks are saved automatically. ■ Lunar guide Draw a card and the app suggests a book and a passage. ■ Notifications on your terms Choose the days and times you want a gentle reminder. You can also be notified only on full moons and new moons. ■ Works stay in the app Every work is stored in the app, so you can read without a connection. Stella means "star" in Latin. Like stars joined into a constellation, the passages that moved you connect into a world of your own. This app is not an official app of Aozora Bunko. The free version holds up to 15 books on the shelf. Premium removes the limit. Premium (Stella Premium) - Monthly plan: renews every month - Annual plan: renews every year, about three months cheaper than paying monthly - The monthly plan has a 7-day free trial for new subscribers. After the trial it renews at the monthly price. - Prices are shown in your local currency before you subscribe. - Payment is charged to your Apple ID when you confirm the purchase (nothing is charged during the free trial). - Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. - Manage or cancel any time in your Apple ID settings, under Subscriptions. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://axixa23.github.io/aozorastella/privacy-policy.html
Penguin
This app is a comic and novel reader that supports various file formats and local network connections. It offers on-device translation for manga and novels, customizable reading settings, and library management features. Your reading progress syncs across devices via iCloud.
- Supports CBZ, CBR, PDF, EPUB, TXT, MD formats
- On-device translation for manga and novels
- Offline viewing
- Library management with folders and iCloud sync
- Customizable reading settings
- Connects to NAS and servers (SMB, WebDAV, OPDS)
- Reading statistics and streaks
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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. ■ Untranslated novels in your language - Tap 文 at the top of a TXT or EPUB novel to read it translated. Tap again for the original. - The book's language is detected, and it translates to your device language or one you pick. - See the original under each paragraph, or long-press a paragraph for it. - Translated on the device. Your book is never sent anywhere. - Page curl turns pages like paper, with two-page spreads on wide iPad, iPhone Duo and Mac screens. - Vertical Japanese EPUBs turn page by page. ■ Manga and novels in one library - Drop in CBZ, CBR, CB7 (7z), ZIP, RAR, PDF or an image folder. TXT, MD and EPUB novels share the shelf. - Auto margin cropping makes your own scans fill the screen. ■ A library in your own folders - Nest Finder-style folders at any depth and drag books between them. - Import dozens at once into the open folder. Move or delete in bulk, or drag books into any order. - Folders and book order sync over iCloud without uploading files or using iCloud storage. ■ Translation that ends on the device - Manga and webtoon bubbles are translated sentence by sentence and relettered in place, vertical Japanese included. - In novels, tap 文 to read the book translated, or look up words. - Translate a whole comic 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 streams from your page with no download, so huge libraries take no storage. - Reading position syncs over iCloud. Server credentials stay in the keychain. ■ Read it the way you want - Single Page, Two-Page, or Smart Two-Page by screen ratio, plus right-to-left binding. - Webtoons scroll vertically or auto-scroll at 120Hz. Pan sideways while zoomed in. - Multi-gigabyte volumes turn smoothly. Pinch zoom works in spreads too. - A scheduled night theme blacks out the reader. 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 device translates a manga page and get a PVScore. - Save and share the score card, and join the global top 500 leaderboard. ■ Honest pricing - Almost everything is free. The free library holds 30 books, plus 10 for sharing the app. - The benchmark and leaderboard are free, with unlimited runs. - Unlimited library: one lifetime Pro purchase, no 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. - 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 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 monetization model: Penguin at free against 青空文庫Stella's freemium. 青空文庫Stella's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, review sentiment, update cadence 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. 青空文庫Stella sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Penguin sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
青空文庫Stella ships an update every 4 days, Penguin every 5 days. Both last shipped on November 13, 2026.
| Parameter | 青空文庫Stella | Penguin |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 4.5 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 5 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 167 MB | 131 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | kyohei sugita | HAEDUN KIM |
Customer experience
青空文庫Stella
Penguin
In-app purchases
青空文庫Stella
- Stellaプレミアム7 Days trial$0.991 Month
- Stellaプレミアム$0.991 Month
- Stellaプレミアム(年間)$9.991 Year
Penguin
- Pro Lifetime — Buy Once$6.99









