ReadXP vs Paper Comic Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
ReadXP
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ReadXP turns the quiet habit of reading into a cozy reading tracker and RPG you'll actually keep up with. Log your books, watch your character gain XP, unlock badges, climb career tiers, and build a beautiful book tracker library you're proud of - all offline, all yours. Whether you're a casual reader wanting a gentle reading log encouragement or a voracious bookworm who likes seeing the detailed numbers behind the habit, ReadXP is the ultimate book log that gives your books a second life on the shelf you carry in your pocket. A BOOK TRACKER THAT'S YOURS Complete Book Log: Keep track of every book you've ever read - finished, reading, or on the shelf for later. Three custom shelf views: wooden spines, cover art, or a clean, minimal list. Shelf themes that match your RPG class (Paladin, Scholar, Wanderer, and more). Choose your avatar - your personalized reading log, your unique aesthetic. Fast search, genre filters, and custom shelves for your specific reading projects. READING IS THE GAME Every page you log earns you XP and levels up your character. Level up through career tiers with real titles - from Apprentice to Saint. Pick a character class with unique XP perks and reading abilities. Customize your profile avatar, card color, and portrait. Unlock Ancient Chronicle lore chapters as your reading progress grows. BADGES, STREAKS & QUESTS 80+ badges across pages, books, streaks, sessions, and overall performance. Daily quests that rotate - hit your page goal, log a morning session, add a note. Streak shield protects a missed day when life gets in the way of your reading. Advanced reading tracker goals for daily pages, weekly books, monthly pages, and yearly books. HONEST, DETAILED STATS Comprehensive reading log stats: Pages read, time logged, average speed, and best sessions. Panoramic weekly / monthly / yearly data views. Genre breakdown chart so you can see what you actually read. Best-session leaderboard calculated from your own reading history. Personal bests, visual reading heatmap, and major milestone markers. RPG ECONOMY WITHOUT THE GRIND Earn Shards directly from reading - never paid for with real money. Spend your hard-earned Shards in the Store on cloaks, weapons, rings, and potions. Common to Mythic rarity tiers, with extra XP bonuses per equipped item. Equipment boosts are modest - the real reward is still the reading itself. YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS Works fully offline after install - a standalone offline book tracker with no account required. Your personal library, logs, and progress live safely on your device. No ads, no social feed, no reading-shaming algorithms. PREMIUM (OPTIONAL) ReadXP is free to use. Premium unlocks the full RPG layer of your reading tracker: Career Path & prestige tiers Class abilities and class-swap Ancient Chronicle lore Mastery Tree skill points Advanced stats and deep goals Available as a monthly or yearly subscription. Cancel anytime. Or you may have the app lifetime for a one-time payment. WHY READXP IS DIFFERENT Most reading apps are either cold spreadsheets or distracting social feeds. ReadXP is neither - it's a single-player reading log wrapped in a warm, hand-drawn RPG universe. It rewards showing up without nagging, celebrates pages without turning your books into a race, and keeps your shelf in a place that feels like a home, not a spreadsheet. Thank you for reading - and for letting ReadXP sit on your home screen. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://buzunkopru.github.io/readxp-privacy/
Paper Comic Reader
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Paper Comic Reader is a fast, private, native reader for your CBZ comics. No account, no cloud, no ads, no tracking ā just your comics, on your device. BUILT FOR READING ⢠Open CBZ (ZIP) comic archives instantly. ⢠Full-screen, paged reader tuned for smooth, high-frame-rate page turns on ProMotion. ⢠A signature paper reading mode ā warm paper texture, grain and show-through you can dial in. ⢠Double-page spreads in landscape, pinch to zoom, tap or swipe to turn. ⢠Jump anywhere from a page grid. YOUR LIBRARY ⢠Discover and Recents carousels put the comic you reach for next front and centre. ⢠Bookmark any page ā each bookmark keeps a thumbnail so you find it at a glance. ⢠Reads ComicInfo.xml metadata: series, issue, credits and a story index in a clean detail view. ⢠Light and dark mode. BRING YOUR OWN COMICS ⢠Import from anywhere the Files app can reach ā your device, iCloud Drive, or a file server. ⢠Point it at a folder and every comic shows up; each downloads when you open it, and a download can be removed again to save space while the entry stays. ⢠See your CBZ covers as thumbnails right in the Files app. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No sign-in, no analytics, no data collection. Everything stays on your device.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Paper Comic Reader at none against ReadXP's 3. ReadXP's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. ReadXP sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Paper Comic Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.
ReadXP ships an update every 4 days, Paper Comic Reader every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ReadXP | Paper Comic Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | Every 3 days ā better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No ā better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad ā better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 ā better | 26.0 |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 73 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | BARBAROS UZUNKOPRU | Ulf Schuster |
In-app purchases
ReadXP
- ReadXP Premium$2.991 Month
- ReadXP Premium7 Days trial$19.991 Year
- ReadXP Lifetime$59.99
Paper Comic Reader
No in-app purchases









