Readwise is still the best choice if daily resurfacing of Kindle and article highlights is the main job, and its Full plan costs $9.99 per month when billed yearly, while Instapaper is the best free read-later pick for most readers. Pocket shut down on 8 July 2025 and Omnivore shut down in November 2024, so readers who relied on either service need a live replacement. The cheapest live hosted option here is Wallabag at 11 euros per year, and the cheapest subscription reader with a strong free plan is Raindrop.io Pro at $3 per month or $28 per year.
Readwise has two parts that buyers often mix up. Highlights collects marks from Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo and more than 40 other sources, then resurfaces them on a daily schedule. Reader is a separate reading app for articles, PDFs, e-book files, emails, YouTube videos, RSS and X threads. The eight options below cover each part in a different way, so start from the job you want done, then compare price and limits.
On this page
Readwise alternatives: comparison table
Swipe the table sideways on a phone to see every column.
| # | Name | Best for | Starting price | Free plan / trial | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Readwise | Daily resurfacing of highlights | $5.59 per month | Free trial (30 days) | Visit |
| 2 | Matter | Listening to saved articles | quote only | Yes | Visit |
| 3 | Instapaper | Simple free read-later reading | $5.99 per month | Yes | Visit |
| 4 | Glasp | Social highlighting on the web | $12.50 per month | Yes | Visit |
| 5 | Raindrop.io | Organising a large bookmark library | $3 per month | Yes | Visit |
| 6 | Wallabag | Self-hosted read-later reading | 11 euros per year | Yes | Visit |
| 7 | Karakeep | AI-tagged bookmarks and notes | $4 per month | Yes | Visit |
| 8 | Hypothesis | Shared annotation on web pages and PDFs | $0 for personal use | Yes | Visit |
The 8 best readwise alternatives, in detail
Readwise
Best for: Daily resurfacing of highlights
Readwise Full costs $9.99 per month when billed yearly, which is $119.88 per year, and it combines Reader and Highlights. Reader only and Highlights only each cost $7.99 per month when billed yearly, and Highlights Lite costs $5.59 per month when billed yearly. Lite covers highlight sync and Daily Review, but it leaves out tags, notes, exports and Reader, so it suits a reader who only wants resurfacing and already has another reading app.
- Choose Readwise if you highlight in Kindle or Apple Books and want those marks to return to you without extra work.
- Export to Notion and Obsidian needs the Full plan, and students can request a 50 percent discount by email before subscribing.
- Skip it if you only need a clean place to save articles, because the tools below do that job for $0 or for a much lower yearly cost.
Pros
- Syncs highlights from Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo and more than 40 sources
- Daily Review resurfaces highlights on a schedule
- Full plan adds Reader, tags, notes and export to Notion and Obsidian
Cons
- No permanent free plan after the 30-day trial
- Highlights Lite excludes tags, notes, exports and Reader
- Full plan costs $119.88 per year when billed yearly
Matter
Best for: Listening to saved articles
Matter is a read-later app for iPhone, iPad and web, and its free tier covers unlimited article saving, clean parsing, full-text search, themes and fonts. The subscription plan adds AI transcription for podcasts and YouTube, faster HD text-to-speech voices, and integrations with Kindle, Gmail and notes apps. App store listings show several monthly and yearly options, which is why the starting price here is quote only.
- Choose Matter if you listen to articles more than you read them on screen, and if you work mainly on Apple devices and the web.
- Test the parser and the voices on the free tier before you commit.
- Skip it if you need an Android app, or a clear web price before you start, because the official site does not show one plain figure for every channel.
Pros
- Free core read-later features with full-text search
- HD text-to-speech and transcription on the subscription plan
- Kindle, Gmail and notes app integrations on the subscription plan
Cons
- No Android app listed in the sources checked
- No single web price shown on the official site, so the price is listed here as quote only
- Some features that were free in earlier versions moved to the subscription plan
Instapaper
Best for: Simple free read-later reading
Instapaper Premium costs $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year, and twelve monthly payments total $71.88, so the yearly option saves $11.89. The free plan covers unlimited saves, folders, sync across web, iOS and Android, offline reading and basic highlighting. Premium adds full-text search, a permanent archive, PDF reading, unlimited notes, speed reading, AI voices and text-to-speech playlists, plus scheduled Kindle delivery.
- Choose Instapaper if you want a calm, minimal reader with a free plan that does the core job well.
- It has run since 2008 and added a direct Pocket import after Pocket shut down.
- Skip it if you need AI tagging or summaries, because organisation is manual with folders, and skip it if you highlight heavily on the free plan, becau
Pros
- Free plan covers unlimited saves, folders, offline reading and basic highlighting
- Premium adds full-text search, a permanent archive and PDF reading
- Premium adds unlimited notes, Kindle delivery and text-to-speech playlists
Cons
- Free notes are capped at 5 per month
- Full-text search needs Premium
- No native Windows or Mac desktop app
Glasp
Best for: Social highlighting on the web
Glasp Pro costs $12.50 per month when billed yearly, which is $150 per year, or $15 per month when billed month to month. The free plan covers unlimited highlights, notes, tags and export, with 3 YouTube summaries a day and 30 PDF uploads. Pro adds unlimited private highlights, 1,000 advanced YouTube summaries a month, 100 PDF uploads, 500 AI chat messages a month and daily auto-sync to Notion.
- Choose Glasp if you highlight across the web and YouTube and you like seeing what other readers marked in the same article.
- It works as a capture layer in front of Notion or Obsidian.
- Skip it if you save notes you want to keep private and you do not want Pro, because the default sharing setting is the detail most new users miss.
Pros
- Free highlighting on web pages, PDFs and YouTube, with export to Notion, Obsidian and CSV
- YouTube summaries and chat with highlights on the free plan within daily limits
- Kindle import and a social feed of other readers highlights
Cons
- Highlights are shared by default and private highlights need Pro
- Free plan allows 3 YouTube summaries a day
- Pro costs $150 per year when billed yearly, which is high for a highlighter
Raindrop.io
Best for: Organising a large bookmark library
Raindrop.io Pro costs $3 per month or $28 per year before tax on the direct web checkout, and the yearly option saves $8 against twelve monthly payments. The free plan covers unlimited bookmarks, collections and devices, plus 100 MB of uploads a month. Pro raises uploads to 10 GB a month and adds full-text search across pages, PDFs, e-book files and YouTube transcripts, permanent archived copies, annotations, reminders, a duplicate and broken-link finder, and priority email support.
- Choose Raindrop.io if your library is large and you need search and a stored copy of each page.
- It has been in continuous development since 2013.
- Skip it if you read offline often, because there is no offline mode, and keep your own exports if you cancel Pro, because archived copies are deleted
Pros
- Free plan covers unlimited bookmarks, collections, devices and highlights up to 100 per bookmark
- Pro adds full-text search, web archive, annotations and daily backups
- Pro adds Stella AI chat and summaries in beta, plus 10 GB of uploads a month
Cons
- No offline mode on any plan
- Archived copies are deleted about a month after Pro lapses
- Direct web price is $28 per year, while App Store prices differ at $27.99 per year
Wallabag
Best for: Self-hosted read-later reading
Wallabag is an open-source read-it-later application that started in 2013, and you can run it on your own server for $0 in software cost, or use the official hosted service at wallabag.it for 11 euros per year. The hosted service also lists 4 euros for 3 months and a 30 euros per year supporter plan, with hosting, backups, upgrades and support. Self-hosting removes the yearly fee but leaves you responsible for the server, database, upgrades, backups and access controls.
- Choose Wallabag if you want full control of your data and you are happy to run a server, or if you want the cheapest hosted reader here.
- The hosted fee funds development of the open-source project.
- Skip it if you want a polished mobile app with no setup work, because the trade-off for control and low cost is administration that the other tools hi
Pros
- Open-source software under the MIT licence, free to self-host
- Hosted service at wallabag.it costs 11 euros per year with a 14-day free trial
- Every hosted plan includes all features, with no feature split by plan
Cons
- Self-hosting needs a server, database, upgrades and backups
- Mobile and extraction quality is less polished than Instapaper or Matter
- Hosted price is in euros, so the cost in other currencies moves with the exchange rate
Karakeep
Best for: AI-tagged bookmarks and notes
Karakeep, previously known as Hoarder, saves links, notes, images and PDFs, tags them with AI and lets you highlight text on any saved page. Karakeep Cloud has a free plan for 50 bookmarks and a Pro plan at $4 per month or $40 per year, which saves $8 against twelve monthly payments. The self-hosted app is free and open source under AGPL-3.0, and it includes every feature, while the cloud plan removes the server work.
- Choose Karakeep if you want AI tagging without a large subscription bill, and if you are comfortable with a newer open-source tool.
- Pro at $40 per year is lower than Readwise Full at $119.88 per year and Glasp Pro at $150 per year.
- Skip it if your free cloud library already holds more than 50 bookmarks, because that cap forces a move to Pro or to a self-hosted install.
Pros
- Open-source and free to self-host with every feature
- Cloud Pro costs $4 per month or $40 per year
- AI tagging, highlights on saved pages, and support for links, notes, images and PDFs
Cons
- Free cloud plan holds only 50 bookmarks
- Self-hosting needs Docker and a server
- AI features on a self-hosted install need your own API key or a local model
Hypothesis
Best for: Shared annotation on web pages and PDFs
Hypothesis is a free social annotation tool for individuals and groups, and it lets readers highlight and comment directly on web pages, PDFs, videos, images and eTexts without switching platforms. Instructors can set up assignments, tag other users, and track engagement inside Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle or D2L. The free personal account covers the core annotation work, while institutional implementations may vary by campus setup.
- Choose Hypothesis if you read with a class, a research group or a team and you want the discussion to sit in the margin of the source itself.
- It is the only tool here built around shared annotation rather than a private queue.
- Skip it if you want a read-later inbox with a daily review, because Hypothesis does not resurface your marks on a schedule and it does not replace a p
Pros
- Free for individuals and groups, with open-source code
- Annotates web pages, PDFs, videos, images and eTexts in the browser
- LMS integration with Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle and D2L for classes
Cons
- Built for classes and shared reading, not for a private read-later queue
- No Daily Review or spaced resurfacing like Readwise
- Institutional LMS pricing is separate from the free personal account
How we chose
We chose tools that are live in November 2026 and that do at least one Readwise job: save articles for later, highlight web pages or PDFs, resurface highlights, or organise a reading library. Prices and plan limits come from official vendor pricing pages and docs opened on 2026-11-12, and each price is tied to a source in the Sources section. We did not test any tool hands-on. We left out Pocket and Omnivore because Pocket shut down on 8 July 2025 and Omnivore shut down in November 2024. We listed Matter as quote only because its official site does not show one plain web price.
Pick by budget and use case
| If you need | Pick | Yearly cost to compare |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest hosted cost | Wallabag hosted | 11 euros per year |
| Free read-later with a strong free plan | Instapaper | $0 on the free plan, $59.99 per year for Premium |
| Large bookmark library with search and archive | Raindrop.io Pro | $28 per year |
| AI-tagged bookmarks at a low price | Karakeep Pro | $40 per year |
| Daily resurfacing of Kindle highlights | Readwise Full | $119.88 per year |
| Social highlighting with private notes | Glasp Pro | $150 per year |
| Shared annotation for a class or team | Hypothesis | $0 for personal use |
| Listening to articles on Apple devices | Matter | quote only, free core plan |
Frequently asked questions
Which Readwise alternative is best for most readers?
Instapaper is the best pick for most readers who only need a clean read-later app, because its free plan covers unlimited saves, folders, offline reading and basic highlighting. Readwise is the better pick if daily resurfacing of Kindle highlights is the main job, because no free tool here matches its Daily Review and its sync from more than 40 sources.
Is there a free Readwise alternative?
Yes. Instapaper, Glasp, Raindrop.io, Wallabag, Karakeep and Hypothesis all have a free plan or a free self-hosted option. Instapaper is the closest free reader, Glasp is the closest free highlighter, and Wallabag is the cheapest hosted option at 11 euros per year, with self-hosting free in software cost.
How much does Readwise cost?
Readwise Highlights Lite costs $5.59 per month when billed yearly, Highlights only and Reader only each cost $7.99 per month when billed yearly, and Full Readwise costs $9.99 per month when billed yearly, which is $119.88 per year. There is a 30-day free trial and no permanent free plan, and students and members of academia can request a 50 percent discount before subscribing.
What happened to Pocket and Omnivore?
Pocket shut down on 8 July 2025, and its export access and API were disabled on 12 November 2025, with data deletion starting then. Omnivore shut down in November 2024 when its team joined ElevenLabs. Readers who used either service need a live replacement, and Instapaper added a direct Pocket import for readers moving a saved library.
Which alternative is best for Kindle highlights?
Readwise is still the best option for Kindle highlights, because it syncs from Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo and more than 40 sources and resurfaces them on a daily schedule. Instapaper Premium is a lower-cost option for Kindle delivery, with scheduled digests and a permanent archive, but it does not offer the same daily resurfacing.
Can I move my highlights out of Readwise?
Yes, on the Full plan, Readwise exports highlights to Notion, Obsidian and other apps, and documents, highlights and notes stay in the account when you change plans. Highlights Lite excludes exports, so check your plan first, and keep a copy in your notes app if you move to a tool with a narrower export set.
Sources
- https://readwise.io/
- https://readwise.io/pricing
- https://getmatter.com/
- https://www.instapaper.com/
- https://glasp.co/
- https://glasp.co/pricing
- https://raindrop.io/
- https://raindrop.io/pro/buy
- https://wallabag.org/
- https://karakeep.app/
- https://web.hypothes.is/
Prices and features were read on each company’s own website in November 2026. They change often, so confirm the current offer on the official site before you sign up or buy.