Comparison

HTML Viewer vs Folio

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

Head to head
About

HTML Viewer

This app displays standalone HTML sites, individual HTML pages, PDFs, and EPUB books and comics offline. It renders HTML content like a browser, supporting CSS, JavaScript, and WebAssembly. Users can highlight, take notes, and search across files and even scanned PDFs.

Highlights
  • Full HTML rendering with CSS, JavaScript, and WebAssembly
  • Built-in PDF reader with continuous scrolling and scaling
  • EPUB and comic support (CBZ, CBR, etc.) with various reading modes
  • Highlighting, notes, and bookmarks
  • Offline access to all content
  • Search across folders and scanned PDFs
  • iCloud sync for reading progress and notes
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.

About

Folio

View and interact with HTML files offline, preserving their original layout and functionality. Organize your imported web content with robust library management tools and access it securely, even without an internet connection.

Highlights
  • Offline HTML viewing
  • Interactive web page support
  • Import HTML files and folders
  • Library organization and search
  • Controlled network access
  • Private by design
  • Optional iCloud sync
Read full description

Folio keeps HTML files readable, interactive, and available offline—exactly the way they were made. No developer-operated server. No Folio account. No conversion that breaks the layout. Bring in a single HTML file or a folder-based page with its referenced CSS, JavaScript, images, and data. Folio gives each page its own local origin so modern pages—including ES modules, fetch requests, and local storage—can work the way they should. BUILD YOUR LIBRARY • Import files from Files or another app's Share sheet • Import a folder-based page with its referenced supporting files • Watch a folder for new and updated pages • Optionally add and refresh selected files from Google Drive • Organize with favorites, tags, searchable icons, sorting, grouping, and library search • Update many pages at once with bulk actions READ AND USE YOUR PAGES • Stay offline by default, with network access controlled separately for each page • Navigate page history, find text, reload, inspect source, and see useful diagnostics • Choose a top or bottom toolbar that gets out of the way as you read • Download files generated by a page, print, or save and share a PDF • Use a full three-column workspace on iPad or focus on the page full screen • Open chosen pages from widgets, and favorites or recent pages from Home Screen quick actions PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No Folio account, advertising, analytics, or tracking • Optional iCloud sync uses your private iCloud database • Optional Google Drive access is limited to files you choose for Folio • Lock individual pages with Face ID or your device passcode • Locked pages are shielded in the app switcher and badged in widgets and quick actions Two included interactive samples make it easy to explore Folio immediately. Keep reports, dashboards, exported notes, archived documentation, and other web files useful wherever you go—even when the network doesn't.

Screenshots

HTML Viewer4 screens
Folio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Folio at 5.0 against HTML Viewer's 4.0. Folio also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 5) and update cadence (daily vs weekly). On price, ratings volume, ads and monetization model 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. HTML Viewer sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Folio asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Folio holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HTML Viewer ships an update weekly, Folio daily. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
HTML Viewer versus Folio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHTML ViewerFolio
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyWeeklyDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJimmy DE BRUYNEBrian Renshaw

In-app purchases

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
None

Folio

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HTML Viewer free?
HTML Viewer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Folio free?
Folio is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, HTML Viewer or Folio?
Folio is rated higher. HTML Viewer averages 4.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Folio averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do HTML Viewer or Folio have ads?
Neither HTML Viewer nor Folio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HTML Viewer or Folio?
HTML Viewer ships an update weekly, and Folio daily. Most recently, HTML Viewer was updated on October 31, 2026 and Folio on October 25, 2026.

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