Comparison

Lector vs HTML Viewer

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

Head to head
About

Lector

Features
Read full description

Lector is a clean and minimal reading app designed for people who want to focus. Upload your PDFs and read without distractions. No feeds, no noise, no clutter. Features: • Clean and distraction-free reading experience • Support for PDF documents • Simple navigation based on the original document pages • Dark mode support • Offline access to your files Lector is built for readers who value simplicity and clarity. More features coming soon (AI, VoiceReader, and more) Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://lector.thefndrs.com/privacy

About

HTML Viewer

View HTML websites, comics (CBZ, CBR), EPUB books, and PDFs offline. Offers full web rendering, panel-by-panel comic reading, and note-taking for books. Syncs progress across devices via iCloud.

Highlights
  • Offline HTML website rendering
  • CBZ, CBR, EPUB, PDF support
  • Panel-by-panel comic reading
  • Highlights and notes in books/PDFs
  • iCloud sync for reading progress
  • Search within documents and folders
Features
Read full description

Pagira opens your HTML sites and pages, your comics in CBZ, CBR, CB7 and CBT, your EPUB books and your PDFs, on iPhone and iPad, even offline. A complete web folder (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images, subfolders) displays just like in a browser, locally, with no connection. HTML SITES AND PAGES - Full rendering: CSS, JavaScript, images and subfolders genuinely work. fetch/XHR, ES modules and even WebAssembly are supported, because the content is served through a real local web origin, not a simple file preview. - A site in a .zip is uncompressed and opened in one tap. .webarchive files open as they are. - Ideal for courses exported as HTML (medicine, law and other fields) and e-learning modules, technical documentation shipped as a website (electronics, mechanics, manuals, datasheets), generated documentation (Doxygen, Sphinx, MkDocs, Docusaurus, Storybook, Javadoc), Jupyter notebooks, R Markdown and reports saved as HTML, or web pages to keep for later. COMICS AND MANGA - CBZ, CBR, CB7 and CBT, as well as .zip, .rar, .7z or folders that hold only pictures. - Two-page spreads on iPad, manga reading direction, vertical scrolling. - Panel by Panel reading: each panel grows and the balloons read without zooming, even on iPhone. BOOKS AND PDFS - EPUB books with light, sepia and dark themes. - PDFs: continuous scrolling, go to page, contents and thumbnails. - Word, Markdown, RTF and text too. - Highlights, notes and bookmarks in your books and PDFs. SEARCH - Search a whole folder, even scanned PDFs (text recognized on the device), and by file name. - Ask: ask a question, Pagira opens the page that answers it. Nothing made up. OFFLINE AND ICLOUD - 100% offline: once the content is on your device, everything opens without a connection. Perfect on a plane or where there is no network. - Open from the Files app (local storage, iCloud Drive, network server) or via "Open in Pagira" from other apps. - iCloud on demand: files are read as you go, without downloading everything, or downloaded in one tap for a permanent offline copy. Automatic resume after an interruption. - iCloud sync: page, highlights, notes and favorites follow you between iPhone and iPad. HOME AND HISTORY - Home: Currently Reading, Favorites, Recent and Offline, with their covers. - History: every page you have viewed, including within a site, grouped by day, and reopened right where you left off. - Your last reading reopens at launch (can be turned off). Universal (iPhone and iPad, in both orientations) and available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Polish and Portuguese. PRIVACY Pagira collects nothing, tracks no one and requires no account. Your files stay on your device and in your iCloud: nothing is sent to a server. No ads, no tracking. TRIAL AND PURCHASE Try Pagira for free with all its features (up to 20 document openings, opening a folder doesn't count). After that, a single purchase, with no subscription, unlocks the app for good: Pagira Pro, or Pagira Pro Supporter, shared with your whole family.

Screenshots

Lector4 screens
HTML Viewer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: HTML Viewer at none against Lector's shown. HTML Viewer also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.1). On price, 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. Lector sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and HTML Viewer sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lector ships an update every 3 weeks, HTML Viewer every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Lector versus HTML Viewer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLectorHTML Viewer
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 6 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.117.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMarlon Geovany Castro MejiaJimmy DE BRUYNE

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Lector

Subscriptions2
  • Lector Pro Access (Monthly)1 Month trial$5.991 Month
  • Lectro Pro Access (Yearly)$59.991 Year
One-time1
  • Early Founder Access$99.99
5 purchases

HTML Viewer

One-time5
  • Buy Me a Coffee$2.99
  • Buy Me a Dessert$4.99
  • Buy Me a Meal$8.99
Show 2 more
  • Pagira Pro$11.99
  • Pagira Pro Supporter$22.99

Questions

Is Lector free?
Lector is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is HTML Viewer free?
HTML Viewer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Lector or HTML Viewer have ads?
Lector shows ads; HTML Viewer does not.
Which is updated more often, Lector or HTML Viewer?
Lector ships an update every 3 weeks, and HTML Viewer every 6 days. Most recently, Lector was updated on October 31, 2026 and HTML Viewer on November 5, 2026.

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