Comparison

Comic Book Viewer vs Panels

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

Head to head
About

Comic Book Viewer

A fast and user-friendly application for viewing digital comic books and PDF files. It supports various comic archive formats and common image types, offering library management and metadata display.

Highlights
  • Supports CBT, CBZ, CBR, CB7, and PDF formats
  • Recognizes PNG, JPG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, and WebP images
  • Import/export comics via iTunes or third-party apps
  • AirDrop support for sharing between devices
  • Displays metadata (CoMet, ACBF, Comic Rack, ComicBookInfo)
  • Library search functionality
Features
Read full description

Comic Book Viewer is a lightweight, fast and easy to use reader for your favorite comic books in cbt, cbz, cbr, cb7 or pdf format. Recognized image formats include png, jpg, gif, tiff, bmp and webp. Import and export your comics via iTunes or simply by sharing them in any third-party app on your device. Send them to other devices via AirDrop. Comic Book Viewer supports and shows metadata in CoMet, Advanced Comic Book Format, Comic Rack or in ComicBookInfo format and allows you to search your library. Comics seen in screenshots © 2014-2025 by Ctrl+Alt+Del Productions. Courtesy of Tim Buckley, http://www.cad-comic.com. Comics not included.

About

Panels

Enhance your comic and manga reading with a clean, customizable interface. Enjoy universal file compatibility, cross-device syncing, and advanced reading presets. Organize your library, secure your content, and import from various cloud services and local networks.

Highlights
  • Universal file compatibility (CBR, CBZ, PDF, ePUB)
  • Cross-device reading progress sync
  • iCloud Drive integration
  • Customizable reading presets
  • Right-to-left reading for manga
  • OPDS server support
  • Content security with password/Face ID
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Improve your comic reading experience with Panels. Enjoy reading your favorite titles in a clean and delightful interface, with plenty of customization and advanced features — fully DRM-free, with first-class support for OPDS, your own library, and your own files. Key features: - Universal Compatibility: Support for most common comic types: CBR, CBZ, CB7, PDF and comic ePUB (not text eBook). Support for multiple image formats, including WebP. - Cross-Device Sync: Synchronize your reading progress across iPhone, iPad and Mac and resume reading exactly where you left off. - Full iCloud Drive support: store your entire library on iCloud and access it from different devices. - Library Organization: Effortlessly manage your comic library with intuitive tools for easy navigation, custom folder colors, logos and cover images. * Themes: support for Light and Dark modes, and many others. * Reading Presets: Choose from a multitude of reading presets or create your own, including horizontal, vertical, or panel-by-panel guided view. - Right to Left reading (manga): read any comic with Panels. * OPDS support: Stream, search and download comics from your OPDS compatible server (Komga, Kavita, Codex, Ubooquity and others). * Secure your content: Keep files locked using a password or Face ID for your collections and files. Use Incognito mode to keep your reading sessions hidden. * Live Text and Subject detection. * Experimental Features: Access experimental features like panel-by-panel navigation. Panels Store — DRM-free comics from independent creators: - Browse and buy comics directly inside Panels, no extra apps or accounts. - 100% DRM-free: every purchase is yours to keep, read offline and back up. - Creators keep 80% of revenue, so your purchases directly support the people making the comics. - Purchased issues are added to your library and sync across your devices automatically. Native support for importing files from: * iCloud Drive * Dropbox * Microsoft OneDrive - Substack * OPDS: Komga, Kavita, Codex and others * Local network shared files and folders via SMB and Embedded web server - iTunes - External drives - Airdrop - Drag&Drop from other apps Page Filters: * Reduce Noise * Increase Sharpness * Reduce Moiré * Crop Borders * Require an active subscription or a one-time purchase. • You may purchase an Auto-Renewing Subscription to unlock all the premium features while it\'s active; or a one-off purchase to unlock the current major version features forever. • Your subscription will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase and will automatically renew (at the duration selected) unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. • Current subscription may not be cancelled during the active subscription period; however, you can manage your subscription and/or turn off auto-renewal by visiting your iTunes Account Settings after purchase • Read our privacy policy and terms of use: https://panels.app/privacy / https://panels.app/terms

Screenshots

Comic Book Viewer2 screens
Panels4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Panels at 4.8 against Comic Book Viewer's 3.8. Panels also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (12K vs 135). Comic Book Viewer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5). On price, review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Panels sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Comic Book Viewer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Panels holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Panels has 12K ratings behind it against 135, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 71% and 70% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Comic Book Viewer ships an update every 3 months, Panels every 8 days. Both last shipped on September 23, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Comic Book Viewer versus Panels: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterComic Book ViewerPanels
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (135 ratings)4.8 (12K ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.0% of reviews — better70.2% of reviews
Number of ratings13512K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#191 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB165 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSebastian BoettcherProdukt Studio

Customer experience

Comic Book Viewer

All ratings135 ratings
Positive70.4%
Neutral8.9%
Negative20.7%
Written reviews217 reviews
Positive71.0%
Neutral12.0%
Negative17.1%

Panels

All ratings12,369 ratings
Positive95.4%
Neutral1.8%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews1,119 reviews
Positive70.2%
Neutral9.6%
Negative20.3%

User reviews

Comic Book Viewer

From 135 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 🚀 Fast and responsive
  • 🔒 No ads or data collection
  • 🔒 Lightweight and efficient

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
  • 🔍 Lack of advanced organization and management features
  • 🔍 Limited customization options
  • 🔍 Issues with page scrolling and zooming

Panels

From 12K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth and responsive
  • 👍 Clean and modern UI
  • 💡 Useful features like panel view and vertical scrolling
  • 🔒 No ads in paid version
  • 👍 Good import and organization options

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔒 Useful features locked behind paywall
  • 🔒 Subscription model instead of one-time purchase
  • 🐛 Issues with page navigation and zoom
  • 🐛 Problems with reading right-to-left content

Bugs and requests

Comic Book Viewer

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Slider not working after recent update
  • Pages randomly skipping ahead when switching orientation
  • Inability to import some comic file formats

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add ability to rename/reorder comics
  • Implement vertical scrolling mode
  • Provide more customization settings
  • Improve library management with folders/collections

Panels

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes when opening large files
  • Issues with page order and navigation
  • Problems with zooming and scrolling
  • Syncing and importing bugs
  • Compatibility issues with older devices

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ability to create sub-folders and nested collections
  • Automatic sorting and organization of comics
  • Option to lock reading direction
  • Double-tap to zoom functionality
  • Progress tracking and bookmarking features
Show 1 more
  • Support for more file formats like ePub

In-app purchases

None

Comic Book Viewer

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Panels

Subscriptions2
  • Panels+ Monthly7 Days trial$1.491 Month
  • Panels+ Yearly7 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time3
  • Panels 3 Upgrade$9.99
  • Panels 2$19.99
  • Panels 3$19.99

Questions

Is Comic Book Viewer free?
Comic Book Viewer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Panels free?
Panels is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Comic Book Viewer or Panels?
Panels is rated higher. Comic Book Viewer averages 3.8 out of 5 from 135 ratings, while Panels averages 4.8 from 12K ratings.
Do Comic Book Viewer or Panels have ads?
Neither Comic Book Viewer nor Panels shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Comic Book Viewer or Panels?
Comic Book Viewer ships an update every 3 months, and Panels every 8 days. Most recently, Comic Book Viewer was updated on September 23, 2026 and Panels on September 23, 2026.

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