Pagira vs Folio
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pagira
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Pagira displays your standalone HTML sites, individual HTML pages and your PDFs directly on your iPhone and iPad, even without a connection, and also reads your EPUB books and comics. Where most readers settle for a rough rendering, Pagira opens a real, complete web folder (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images, subfolders) and renders it like a browser, locally. WHO IS IT FOR? Pagira is for anyone who needs to read standalone HTML sites, individual HTML pages, PDFs, books or comics directly on their device, especially offline. Typical uses: - Students whose courses are exported as HTML (medicine, law and other fields), or delivered as e-learning modules. - Technical documentation shipped as a website: electronics, mechanics, engineering manuals, datasheets and reference guides. - Developers and writers previewing static sites and generated documentation (Doxygen, Sphinx, MkDocs, Docusaurus, Storybook, Javadoc). - Reports and exports such as Jupyter notebooks, R Markdown or test reports saved as HTML. - Web pages and articles you want to keep and read later, offline. If your content is an HTML folder, a single page, a PDF, a book or a comic, Pagira is built to open it cleanly. FEATURES - Full HTML 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 go. - Built-in PDF reader: continuous scrolling and automatic scaling, go to page, contents and thumbnails, for your local or iCloud PDFs. - EPUB books (light, sepia and dark themes) and comics in CBZ, CBR, CB7 and CBT: two-page spreads on iPad, manga, vertical scrolling, and Panel by Panel reading, made for iPhone. Word, Markdown, RTF and text too. - Highlights, notes and bookmarks in your books and PDFs. - 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. - 100% offline: once the content is on your device, everything opens without a connection. Perfect on a plane, while travelling or in areas with no network. - Local files and iCloud Drive: open from the Files app, your local storage or iCloud Drive, and also via "Open in Pagira" from other apps. - iCloud on demand: iCloud files are streamed as you go (without downloading everything), or downloaded in one tap for a permanent offline copy. Automatic resume after an interruption. - Home: Currently Reading, Favorites, Recent and Offline, with their covers. - iCloud sync: page, highlights, notes and favorites follow you between iPhone and iPad. - History: find every page you have viewed, including navigation within a site, grouped by day, and reopen it exactly where you left off. - Auto-reopen: pick up your last reading as soon as you launch the app (can be turned off). - Web archives: open a saved .webarchive file, rendered offline as is. - Universal: built for iPhone and iPad, in both orientations. - Multilingual: available in French, English, 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.
Folio
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Folio at 5.0 against Pagira'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 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
Both are free to download. Pagira sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Folio asks for nothing beyond the download.
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.
Pagira ships an update weekly, Folio daily. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Pagira | Folio |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jimmy DE BRUYNE | Brian Renshaw |
In-app purchases
Pagira
- Buy Me a Coffee$2.99
- Buy Me a Dessert$4.99
- Buy Me a Meal$8.99
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- Pagira Pro$11.99
- Pagira Pro Supporter$22.99
Folio
No in-app purchases








