What is Panels Premium
Panels is free to download, and many of its features are free forever: you can import comics, organize your library, and read them without paying anything.
Panels Premium unlocks the more advanced features, like cloud libraries, OPDS servers, page filters, and text detection. A single purchase works on all your Apple devices signed in with the same Apple Account, and can be shared with your family through Family Sharing.
Plans
There are two ways to get Premium.
Panels+ (subscription)
Panels+ is a monthly or yearly subscription. It unlocks every feature for as long as the subscription is active, including features added in future major versions. Both plans include a free trial.
Panels 3 (one-time purchase)
Panels 3 is a one-time purchase. It unlocks all Panels 3 features forever, including any added to Panels 3 later.
When a new major version (Panels 4) is released, you keep everything you have. New features introduced in Panels 4 will need a new purchase, and owners of the previous version get a discount.
We don't work to a fixed release schedule, but Panels 4 will most likely arrive sometime in 2026. Since previous-version owners always get a discount, buying now doesn't cost you anything when it does.
Your Panels 2 purchase is still valid and keeps its features. To get the features added in Panels 3, you can upgrade at a discounted price.
What's included
| Feature | Free | Panels 3 and Panels+ |
|---|---|---|
| Reading | ||
| Default, double page, and vertical scroll reading modes | ✅ | ✅ |
| Continue reading to the next title | ✅ | ✅ |
| Table of contents | ✅ | ✅ |
| Comic ePUB | ✅ | ✅ |
| Fit to screen, fill screen, and page curl reading modes | ✅ | |
| Panel by panel navigation | ✅ | |
| Dynamic background color | ✅ | |
| Incognito mode | ✅ | |
| Text and subject detection | ✅ | |
| Page filters | ✅ | |
| Importing | ||
| Files app, USB (Finder), AirDrop, and drag and drop | ✅ | ✅ |
| Dropbox, OneDrive, and SMB | ✅ | |
| Web server | ✅ | |
| Libraries | ||
| Local library and custom folder library | ✅ | ✅ |
| Substack library | ✅ | ✅ |
| Panels Store purchases | ✅ | ✅ |
| Search your library | ✅ | ✅ |
| Cloud library (iCloud Drive, external drives) | ✅ | |
| OPDS libraries and streaming (Komga, Kavita, Calibre…) | ✅ | |
| Search across multiple libraries | ✅ | |
| Organizing | ||
| Customize collections | ✅ | ✅ |
| Downloads and recently read | ✅ | ✅ |
| Lock content with a password or Face ID | ✅ | |
| Favorite library locations | ✅ | |
| Recently imported | ✅ | |
| Used space management | ✅ | |
| Customization and extras | ||
| Basic app icons | ✅ | ✅ |
| Premium themes and app icons | ✅ | |
| Panels Labs: early access to experimental features | ✅ |
Some features, such as the web server and page curl, are only available on iPhone and iPad.
Getting Premium
In Panels, open Settings and tap the My Purchases section to see the available plans. You'll also see the plans when you try to use a Premium feature.
All payments are handled by Apple through the App Store. To manage or cancel a Panels+ subscription, follow Apple's guide.
Next steps
- Restoring purchases on a new device or after reinstalling Panels
- Family Sharing: share Premium with your family
- FAQs