Comparison

AirReader vs Halftone

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

Head to head
About

AirReader

Features
Read full description

Your files, ready to read. AirReader opens ZIP, CBZ, and PDF files without adding them to a separate in-app library or asking you to extract them first. Choose a file from iCloud Drive, a compatible cloud service, local storage, or an external drive and start reading. Light on storage Archive contents are kept only while you read, then cleared when you close the book. There is no duplicate library to manage, and you can clear temporary files at any time. Made for focused reading - Single-page reading on iPhone and adaptive two-page spreads in landscape on iPad - Right-to-left navigation for manga and left-to-right navigation for books - Automatic resume for every file - Hardware keyboard page turning - No ads while you read AirReader is free to use. An ad may appear after you close a book and return to the file browser, never in the middle of your reading.

About

Halftone

This app provides a seamless reading experience for comics and manga from various sources like Komga, Kavita, and cloud storage. It features unique zoom controls for comfortable one-handed reading and supports multiple file formats.

Highlights
  • Connects to Komga, Kavita, and other OPDS catalogs
  • Hold Zoom for one-handed reading
  • Page-level progress sync
  • Supports various file formats (CBZ, CBR, PDF)
  • Webtoon mode for long-strip scrolling
  • Privacy features like Incognito reading
Read full description

The reader your comic and manga server deserves — and the comfiest way to read on a phone. Halftone connects straight to the places you already keep comics: Komga and Kavita (native, not just OPDS), Audiobookshelf, any OPDS catalog, SMB shares on your NAS, WebDAV, Dropbox, OneDrive, and the files on your device. No account with us. No middleman server. No ads. PANEL VIEW Read one panel at a time, in the right order — manga's right-to-left included. Tap or swipe to step through the page, hold to peek at the whole thing, and pick Overlay or Fade to dim everything but the panel you're on. HOLD ZOOM Press and hold anywhere and the page magnifies; pan with the same finger — one-handed, made for dense pages and small lettering. Rest your thumb at a screen edge and the page keeps moving. Free for everyone — no unlock, no trial, no asterisk. YOUR SERVER, FIRST-CLASS • Komga and Kavita: native API clients — series, collections, page-by-page streaming • Audiobookshelf: your server's comics, with its covers and progress • Two-way, page-level progress sync — stop on your iPhone, and the server's web reader opens on the same page • OPDS for everything else: Codex, Ubooquity, Calibre-Web, Stump, and more • SMB and WebDAV — your NAS, found automatically • Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud Drive, and any Files-app folder • Stream page by page without importing (CBZ and most CBR/RAR), or pin chapters for offline with one tap • Synced folders: point Halftone at a folder on your NAS or cloud drive and it mirrors the whole tree, subfolders and all • iCloud sync carries your place to your other devices through your own iCloud — for imported comics and every source with no sync of its own A READER BUILT FOR COMICS • Apple Books–style page curl that folds at the spine — or a classic slide • Double-page spreads with one-tap pairing fixes, spine shadow, and paper margins • True right-to-left for manga: page order, tap zones, curl, and scrubber all follow • A proper webtoon mode: smooth long-strip scrolling, detected automatically • AI Upscale: low-resolution scans are sharpened on-device as you read • Crop Borders trims scanned margins so the art fills the screen, and can drop credit strips • Tap zones your way: Left-Right, L-Shaped, Top-Bottom, or off • Match Page backgrounds: margins take the page's own color — or Backdrop, a soft blur of the page itself A LIBRARY THAT KEEPS UP • Built for thousands of files: search down to the single comic, collections, merge and move • Folders for loose comics — one-shots and odd issues, no fake series required • Reads ComicInfo.xml on import: real series names, correct chapter order, right-to-left detected • Wi-Fi transfer from any computer's browser • Bookmarks and a farthest-read marker — re-read an earlier chapter without losing your place • One-tap backup to a folder you pick; export as standard CBZ with ComicInfo.xml • Privacy tools: Incognito reading, Face ID app lock, hidden comics READS EVERYTHING CBZ/ZIP, CBR/RAR, CB7/7z, PDF, image-based ePub (DRM-free), and plain folders of images. FAIR PRICING, NO DARK PATTERNS Free is genuinely free: your whole local library, no series limit, full quality, spreads, right-to-left, webtoon scrolling, Hold Zoom, and the Panel View preview — and it never expires. Premium adds the connected half — servers, cloud drives, streaming, synced folders, iCloud sync, backup, privacy tools — plus the full reader: Panel View, AI Upscale, page curl, Crop Borders, spine shadow, and Match Page. Try it free for 24 hours. Lifetime unlock, or a small subscription. Nothing you imported or downloaded is ever deleted if you stop paying. SAMPLE ARTWORK IN SCREENSHOTS "Pepper&Carrot" by David Revoy (CC-BY 4.0, peppercarrot.com) · "Give My Regards to Black Jack" by Shuho Sato (author's free-use declaration) · US public-domain Golden Age comics. Privacy Policy: https://halftonereader.app/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://halftonereader.app/terms.html

Screenshots

AirReader3 screens
Halftone4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: AirReader at none against Halftone's 3. Halftone's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (weekly vs monthly). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. Halftone sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. AirReader asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AirReader ships an update monthly, Halftone weekly. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
AirReader versus Halftone: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAirReaderHalftone
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—7 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB59 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMasayuki NaganoBony Yousuf

In-app purchases

None

AirReader

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Halftone

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly3 Days trial$1.491 Month
  • Premium Yearly3 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Unlock$19.99

Questions

Is AirReader free?
AirReader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Halftone free?
Halftone is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do AirReader or Halftone have ads?
AirReader shows ads; Halftone does not.
Which is updated more often, AirReader or Halftone?
AirReader ships an update monthly, and Halftone weekly. Most recently, AirReader was updated on October 31, 2026 and Halftone on October 31, 2026.

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