AI Comic Translator vs Penguin
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
AI Comic Translator
This app offers advanced AI-powered translation for imported comic files, analyzing page content for natural-sounding translations in over 50 languages. It features interactive reading modes, smart recaps, and supports various file formats for offline enjoyment.
- Deep AI page analysis for natural translations
- Premium neural OCR for complex fonts
- Interactive translation by tapping speech bubbles
- Full translation mode for uninterrupted reading
- AI smart recap of comic volumes
- Import CBR, CBZ, ZIP, RAR, PDF files
- Offline reading after processing
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Comiglot reads the page, not just the text. Import a comic you already own and the AI translates the speech bubbles in place, keeping the art, the panels and the original layout. This is not word-for-word machine translation. The model looks at the actual page — who is speaking, what happened before, the tone of the scene — and reads the text off the image itself, so it catches lines that plain OCR would garble. WHY NOT WAIT • Raw manga, manhwa and manhua nobody has scanlated yet • New chapters on the day they appear, in your language • Franco-Belgian and European albums never published where you live • Anything you already have as a file HOW IT WORKS 1. Add a file: CBZ, CBR, ZIP, RAR, PDF or EPUB 2. The app finds every speech bubble on every page 3. Pick a quality level and start 4. Read — the translation sits inside the original bubbles THE ENGINE • Two quality levels: a fast one, and a deeper one for dense or difficult pages • Context aware: character voice, slang, honorifics and running jokes survive • Text is fitted into the bubble it belongs to, not stamped across the artwork • 28 target languages MANGA MODE AND PANEL VIEW • Right-to-left reading for manga: swipes, taps and the page slider follow the Japanese order • Prefer left to right? Mirror the page instead • Panel view takes you through a page one panel at a time — comfortable even on a phone READ BUBBLES ALOUD Tap a bubble to hear it. Listen to the translation, or switch to the original — while the original plays, the translated bubble steps aside so you can see the original lettering underneath. Useful when you are learning the script and not only the language. FIX A BUBBLE WITH YOUR FINGER No AI is perfect on every page. Move a bubble, pull its corner to resize it, remove one you do not need. Merge two bubbles into one, split one in two, or add a bubble the scan missed. Not happy with a line? Edit it yourself or ask the AI for alternative translations. Corrections are kept per translation and travel with it when you share. LEARN LANGUAGES — FREE Every comic you translate becomes study material. • Save any line as a phrase together with its translation • Spaced repetition at 1, 3, 7, 21 and 60 days • Five exercise types: pick the meaning, pick the phrase, build it from words, fill the gap, listen and choose • A daily quiz that pays up to 100 tokens This section costs nothing and spends no AI credits — the phrases are already on your device. LIBRARY AND READER • Folders, reading progress, full offline reading after processing • AI Recap: forgot what happened in volume 3? Get a summary • Export a finished translation as a .cmgt file and send it to a friend — they read your translation on their own copy of the book 28 LANGUAGES Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese. COMMUNITY Telegram: https://t.me/comiglot Discord: https://discord.gg/jbJKqdB2CS WHO IT IS FOR • Manga, manhwa and manhua readers who will not wait weeks for a scanlation • BD readers working through Franco-Belgian albums in the original French • Language learners who would rather read a comic than a textbook Comiglot does not host or distribute comics. You bring your own files. Privacy Policy: https://comiglot.app/privacy-policy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
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 rating: Penguin at 4.5 against AI Comic Translator's 4.0. Penguin also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 weeks). AI Comic Translator's advantage is iOS requirement (15.5 vs 18.0). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and in-app purchases 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. AI Comic Translator sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Penguin sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Penguin holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
AI Comic Translator ships an update every 2 weeks, Penguin every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | AI Comic Translator | Penguin |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (1 ratings) | 4.5 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 145 MB | 121 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ILIA KALUGIN | HAEDUN KIM |
Customer experience
AI Comic Translator
Penguin
In-app purchases
AI Comic Translator
- GEEK PASS (Monthly)$5.991 Month
- VIP PASS (Monthly)$34.991 Month
- GEEK PASS (Yearly)$59.991 Year
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- VIP PASS (Yearly)$349.991 Year
- 5,000 AI Tokens (Loyalty)$0.79
- 5,000 AI Tokens$0.89
- 30,000 AI Tokens (Loyalty)$4.09
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- 100,000 AI Tokens$7.99
- 100,000 AI Tokens (Loyalty)$7.99
- 100,000 AI Tokens (Promo)$8.99
Penguin
- Pro Lifetime — Buy Once$3.99
Questions
Is AI Comic Translator free?
Is Penguin free?
Which has better reviews, AI Comic Translator or Penguin?
Do AI Comic Translator or Penguin have ads?
Which is updated more often, AI Comic Translator or Penguin?
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