Comparison

ShelfStream vs PixComic

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

Head to head
About

ShelfStream

This app is a powerful comic and manga viewer that supports a wide range of file formats and cloud storage services. It offers a premium reading experience with intelligent prefetching and multiple viewing modes, along with easy library management.

Highlights
  • Cloud storage integration (iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, Box)
  • NAS and server connection (SMB, WebDAV, FTP/SFTP)
  • Zero load time prefetching
  • Multiple reading modes (single, spread, vertical scroll)
  • Support for ZIP, CBZ, RAR, CBR, PDF, 7z
  • Library organization and bookmarks
Features
Read full description

【The Ultimate Comic & Manga Viewer】 ShelfStream is the next-generation viewer designed for comic enthusiasts who want the best reading experience for their scanned ebook and comic collection. ■ Cloud Storage Support (Premium) • Works with iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Box • Read your files where they are, without copying them to your device ■ NAS & Server Connection (Premium) • SMB, WebDAV, FTP/SFTP protocols supported • Open books on your home server without copying them • Handle massive libraries effortlessly ■ Comfortable Reading Experience • ZIP/CBZ files prefetch page by page, so you can start reading without waiting for the whole file (RAR/CBR/7z/PDF are retrieved in full before display) • 7 reading styles (single page, two-page spread, vertical scroll (Webtoon), and more) • Right-to-left and left-to-right reading support • Save display settings per book and series ("Apply to Series" for batch setup) • Set the fit method separately for portrait/landscape, plus a landscape layout option ■ Extensive Format Support • ZIP, CBZ, RAR, CBR, PDF, 7z compatible • Image files (JPEG, PNG, WebP) ■ Easy Library Management • Organize by series • Bookmarks and reading history (reading position is stored on this device) • Intuitive library controls ■ Pricing • Free: local file reading, all 7 reading styles, series management, bookmarks • ShelfStream Premium: cloud and NAS connections with streaming  Monthly plan (1 month, auto-renewing) US$0.49 / Yearly plan (1 year, auto-renewing) US$5.99  Both include a 7-day free trial • No ads, including on the free plan Subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store account settings. The ultimate viewer for digital comic collectors. Start free today. --- Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://shelfstream.remosia.biz/privacy/

About

PixComic

Features
Read full description

PixComic is a local comic reader. It does not provide any comics — it reads the archives you already own, and it reads them fast. WI-FI TRANSFER, NO CABLE Start the server on your phone, open the address it shows in your computer's browser, and drag your files in. Uploads are chunked and resumable, so a multi-gigabyte archive survives a dropped connection, a locked screen or a closed tab — it picks up where it left off. The same page lets you browse what is on the device, pull a book back to your computer, delete one, and check free space. Importing from the Files app, AirDrop and "Open in" from other apps all work too. EVERY FORMAT, NO MOJIBAKE CBZ / ZIP, CBR / RAR, PDF, and plain folders of images. Scan releases from Japan and Greater China routinely store filenames in Shift-JIS or GBK rather than UTF-8, which turns into garbage text in most readers. PixComic detects the encoding automatically, and sorts chapters naturally — page 2 comes before page 10, not after it. THREE READING MODES · Manga: right-to-left, automatic two-page spreads in landscape, cover on its own page so the spreads line up the way print does · Standard: left-to-right · Webtoon: seamless vertical scrolling, pinch to set the page width A wide double-page scan can also be split into two screens, so spreads are comfortable to read on a phone held upright. BUILT TO STAY SMOOTH Every image is decoded off the main thread and downsampled to your screen, with pages preloaded in both directions. Page dimensions are measured once in the background — you can read the whole time it runs — and cached, so reopening the same book skips the rescan, the "Analyzing pages" strip along the bottom, and the one relayout that lands when it finishes. FOUR THEMES Standard, Sci-fi, Pixel and Paper. Not just a tint — corners, borders, typeface and light/dark all change together. ALSO Double-tap for a quick zoom and pinch all the way to native pixels (6x at most on very large scans), thumbnail navigation, bookmarks, a scrubber with page preview, automatic border trimming, screen-awake and brightness lock. PixComic is free and ad-supported: a banner on the shelf and an occasional interstitial before a book opens — never while you are reading.

Screenshots

ShelfStream4 screens
PixComic4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PixComic at none against ShelfStream's 2. ShelfStream's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. ShelfStream sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.49 per month. PixComic asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
ShelfStream versus PixComic: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShelfStreamPixComic
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly—
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer株式会社リモシアPIXDYNE PTY LTD

In-app purchases

2 purchases

ShelfStream

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Plan7 Days trial$0.491 Month
  • Yearly Plan7 Days trial$5.991 Year
None

PixComic

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ShelfStream free?
ShelfStream is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PixComic free?
PixComic is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do ShelfStream or PixComic have ads?
PixComic shows ads; ShelfStream does not.

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