# Readwise — Remember & Learn from Books > Centralizes and revisits reading highlights for improved retention. (iPhone/iPad app by Readwise, Inc.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/readwise/id1476885528 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Readwise, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1476885527) - Category: Education, Books - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 4.80/5 from 1,512 App Store ratings · 321 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 12+ - Requires: iOS 15.5 · 129 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2020-04-18 - Data updated: 2026-08-25 - Monetization: free with in-app purchases - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/readwise/id1476885528/reviews.md ## What is Readwise? Readwise helps you get the most out of what you read by making it fun & easy to revisit your highlights from all your favorite reading platforms in one place. Quickly synchronize your highlights from Kindle, Apple Books, Instapaper, Pocket, Medium, Goodreads, and even paper books. Then start building a daily review habit using the app and daily email. By reviewing your highlights every day, you'll retain dramatically more and you'll finally stop forgetting all the details from books you just finished! --- “Readwise is my favorite new service this year. Save highlights from Kindle, Instapaper, and now tweets... one of the best long-term personal learning tools I’ve come across.” — Caleb Hicks “Besides my Kindle, Readwise has been the most influential tech for improving my reading process.” — Blake Reichmann “If you use Kindle or Instapaper or just enjoy keeping and reading highlights, please sign up to Readwise. It will become one of your cherished services.” — Christopher Galtenberg --- ACTUALLY USE YOUR HIGHLIGHTS Highlighting is great, but why bother if you're never going to see any of your highlights again? Readwise makes it easy to quickly liberate all your highlights into one place, ensuring that you'll actually see and use them, including highlights from: • Amazon Kindle • Apple iBooks • Instapaper • Pocket • Medium • Goodreads • Twitter • Physical Books (using OCR) • Manual Input • CSV Upload STOP FORGETTING WHAT YOU READ How often do you finish a book, only to forget the key ideas two weeks later? We don't remember things by just reading them once. Readwise solves this problem using scientifically proven learning techniques called Spaced Repetition and Active Recall. Readwise resurfaces the right highlights at the right times using a daily email and an app. Readwise even makes it possible to convert your best highlights into flashcards for added retention. TAG, NOTE, SEARCH, AND ORGANIZE With your highlights all in one place, Readwise enables you to organize and connect these ideas in new ways. Use search to find a highlight instantly; use tag to organize highlights within your library; use notes to add your own annotations. HIGHLIGHT PAPER BOOKS Readwise also makes it possible to take highlights from your physical books and papers using your phone’s camera. Just snap a pic, highlight with your finger, and have your favorite highlights saved forever. --- If you are not already a Readwise subscriber, you can get started immediately with a 30-day free trial with no credit card upfront. At the end of the trial, you will not be charged unless you choose to subscribe to Readwise Full or Readwise Lite. Price may vary by location. Manage your subscription from your dashboard. --- Support: Check out readwise.io/faq or email us at hello@readwise.io Privacy Policy: https://readwise.io/tos Terms of Service: https://readwise.io/privacy ## Key features - Synchronize highlights from multiple platforms - Daily review habit via app and email - Spaced repetition and active recall - Tag, note, and search highlights - OCR for paper book highlights - Convert highlights to flashcards ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **Subscriptions** | Subscription | Price | Period | | --- | --- | --- | | Readwise Full Monthly Plan | $8.99 | per month | | Readwise Full Yearly | $94.99 | per year | | Readwise Lite Monthly | $4.99 | per month | | Readwise Lite Yearly | $52.99 | per year | | Readwise Lite Monthly | $6.99 | per month | | Readwise Full Yearly | $119.99 | per year | | Readwise Full Monthly | $12.99 | per month | | Readwise Lite Yearly | $66.99 | per year | ## What do users think of Readwise? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🚀 Powerful spaced repetition - 📚 Seamless integration with reading apps - 🔍 Helpful AI-powered features - 🗓️ Useful daily review routine - 🧠 Boosts knowledge retention - 🎨 Visually appealing interface **Cons** - 💰 Expensive subscription - 🔌 Sync issues with some platforms - 📱 Subpar mobile app experience - 🕰️ Lack of flexibility in daily review - 🔍 Limited search functionality **Commonly reported bugs** - Frequent app crashes - Sync failures with certain accounts - Unreliable highlight capture **Most requested features** - Add support for more reading apps - Improve sync and import capabilities - Introduce more customization options - Enhance search and organization tools - Develop a more intuitive mobile interface ## Recent user reviews (10 of 321) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/readwise/id1476885528/reviews.md ### 2/5 — abhorrent app redesign ruins brilliant service *2026-08-18* I’ve been a paid member of the service (for about 3-4 years) and find it extremely helpful and I love it, but the lates app redesign is an excellent example how unnecessary redesign can ruin otherwise great app. There was literally no need or sense in redesigning like that. Nothing, nothing has improved user experience in any way. Fonts are smaller, background is distracting, interface is messier, streak stats are tiny icon in the corner and then just a couple of weeks worth of tracking presented as weird calendar. Please stop your UI designers from ruining your service. It has one pure purpose, don’t mess with it. ### 5/5 — Love the redesign *2026-08-14* Awesome job! ### 1/5 — Everything now locked behind a paywall *2026-08-13* The most recent update has been detrimental to the usability of this app locking ~95% of features behind an expensive subscription. It is now minimum £70 a year just to be able to use the main previously free features such as syncing highlights from Kindle. You even have to pay to manually add notes by typing or photo scan. If you are not willing to cough up the money don’t bother with this app. While the app is good for organising book notes, I will be deleting and moving to a free alternative as soon as I find one as it is just unaffordable to have yet another subscription. If they just locked proper premium features behind a paywall as before it would have been understandable. But no, Mr greedy corporation locks the most basic functions of the app behind a paywall and completely ruin the app for previous free version users unless they pay. Do better Readwise! **Developer response:** To clarify, Readwise has always been a paid service after the 30-day free trial, so the recent update didn’t move previously free features behind a new paywall. We’re a small, bootstrapped team making ad-free reading software. You can read more about why we’ve chosen to keep Readwise paid here: https://blog.readwise.io/why-were-bootstrapping-readwise/. If you have any questions, reach us anytime at hello@readwise.io. ### 5/5 — Love the 2.0 update *2026-07-23* I’ve been using Readwise together with Readwise Reader for a while now, and it’s a brilliant combo for reading and actually reviewing what you’ve read. The 2.0 update has genuinely changed things for me. It’s the first time the app has felt like somewhere I want to spend time, rather than a chore I do to feel virtuous about my reading habits. Recommended, especially if you actually want to remember what you read. ### 5/5 — Finally, an update. *2026-07-22* I have been subscribed to this app for years. It’s the best at what it does, but paying monthly for an app that was without significant updates for that long, and was really showing its age in annoying ways was more & more frustrating. Thankfully they are finally giving it a significant upgrade it is much better. I know the Reader app has more users, but here’s hoping this is a sign of frequent updates for the Readwise app as well. That is what got some of us into this ecosystem in the first place. ### 5/5 — Excellent way to reengage with your books! *2026-06-28, version 2.28.1* Readwise presents my Kindle highlights to me in a daily review. I’ve also hooked it up to Claude who reads from my personal/professional development books and provides me advice! It’s fantastic. Thanks Readwise! ### 5/5 — Fantastic app *2026-05-25, version 2.28.1* In the few apps I pay for. Helps me remember all of the highlights of the books. I’ve read in the past 10 years. Super helpful for learning. ### 5/5 — Finally an app made for serious readers! *2026-03-31, version 2.26.1* If your memory is half as bad as mine, when you can’t remember what you read 5 minutes ago, this app is totally for you. Try it for free. You’ll purchase it. ### 5/5 — Superb *2026-03-21* I use this for work all of the time. Superb at bringing my highlights to one place and allows me to chat with my highlights like my own AI. Absolutely wouldn’t live without it. ### 5/5 — Genial! *2026-03-13* Wärmste Empfehlung für alle Viel-Leser! Hätte ich gerne viel früher gefunden. ## Frequently asked questions about Readwise ### What does Readwise do? Readwise helps you get the most out of what you read by making it fun and easy to revisit your highlights from various reading platforms in one place. It uses scientifically proven learning techniques like spaced repetition and active recall to improve your retention of information. ### What are the key features of Readwise? Key features include synchronizing highlights from Kindle, Apple Books, Instapaper, Pocket, Medium, Goodreads, and even paper books using OCR. You can also tag, note, and search your highlights, and convert them into flashcards for added retention. ### How much does Readwise cost? Readwise offers a 30-day free trial. After the trial, you can choose to subscribe to Readwise Full or Readwise Lite. Pricing may vary by location, and subscriptions can be managed from your dashboard. ### What devices is Readwise compatible with? Readwise is available as a mobile app and can be accessed through its website. It synchronizes highlights from various popular reading platforms, indicating broad compatibility with digital reading ecosystems. ### How can Readwise help me remember what I read? Readwise utilizes spaced repetition and active recall techniques. By resurfacing your highlights at optimal times through daily emails and the app, it helps combat forgetting and ensures you retain key ideas from your reading material. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 3.4.3 — 2026-08-24 (We've fixed many of the issues you all have reported in the new Readwise design: from OCR/Camera Highlighting to Mastery cards to Share images to typography issues to frequency tuning and much much more. Please keep any feedback you have coming!) Welcome to Readwise 2.0! We've rebuilt the entire app from the ground up: completely refreshed design, smoother animations, and much much faster everywhere. • Daily Review: redesigned with swipeable cards and a new completion screen • Capturing highlights: snap a page with your camera, type one in, or just speak it out loud • Search: completely revamped and much faster • Ghostreader, Chat with Highlights, and Audio Reviews, all in new (easier to find) homes • Literally hundreds of bug fixes and small experience improvements Your account, highlights, streak, and settings carry over automatically. Previously: Themed Connections — We launched a new feature called Themed Connections. By default, you’ll receive a batch of highlights exploring a specific theme or idea each Saturday. This theme will be unique to your highlights and span multiple sources. Since starting Readwise, we’ve heard from thousands of you that one of the most delightful part of reviewing your highlights is the unexpected connections found across sources. This feature supercharges that process. You can now Chat with your Highlights! Ask any question about what you've read, find any highlight effortlessly (it's like superpowered search), and find connections across highlights. This is the biggest new feature to Readwise in over a year, though we still intend to extensively improve it and build even more AI-powered features on top of this base :) You can access Chat from the main Review screen in the app. You'll now also notice a "Find Similar Highlights" button on every highlight you see in Readwise. Hitting this button will quickly pull up semantically related highlights from other books/articles/papers you've highlighted, hopefully sparking unexpected connections. We've wanted to build this feature since we started Readwise 7+ years ago, so excited to share it's finally possible and here :) We also launched a Readwise MCP server, for chatting with your highlights directly from Claude and other apps. And of course, we continue to add many many new features to our Reader app. You can see all of our latest weekly improvements to Readwise/Reader at our changelog at docs.readwise.io/changelog :) ### 3.4.2 — 2026-08-07 (We've fixed many of the issues you all have reported in the new Readwise design: from OCR/Camera Highlighting to Mastery cards to Share images to typography issues to frequency tuning and much much more. Please keep any feedback you have coming!) Welcome to Readwise 2.0! We've rebuilt the entire app from the ground up: completely refreshed design, smoother animations, and much much faster everywhere. • Daily Review: redesigned with swipeable cards and a new completion screen • Capturing highlights: snap a page with your camera, type one in, or just speak it out loud • Search: completely revamped and much faster • Ghostreader, Chat with Highlights, and Audio Reviews, all in new (easier to find) homes • Literally hundreds of bug fixes and small experience improvements Your account, highlights, streak, and settings carry over automatically. Previously: Themed Connections — We launched a new feature called Themed Connections. By default, you’ll receive a batch of highlights exploring a specific theme or idea each Saturday. This theme will be unique to your highlights and span multiple sources. Since starting Readwise, we’ve heard from thousands of you that one of the most delightful part of reviewing your highlights is the unexpected connections found across sources. This feature supercharges that process. You can now Chat with your Highlights! Ask any question about what you've read, find any highlight effortlessly (it's like superpowered search), and find connections across highlights. This is the biggest new feature to Readwise in over a year, though we still intend to extensively improve it and build even more AI-powered features on top of this base :) You can access Chat from the main Review screen in the app. You'll now also notice a "Find Similar Highlights" button on every highlight you see in Readwise. Hitting this button will quickly pull up semantically related highlights from other books/articles/papers you've highlighted, hopefully sparking unexpected connections. We've wanted to build this feature since we started Readwise 7+ years ago, so excited to share it's finally possible and here :) We also launched a Readwise MCP server, for chatting with your highlights directly from Claude and other apps. And of course, we continue to add many many new features to our Reader app. You can see all of our latest weekly improvements to Readwise/Reader at our changelog at docs.readwise.io/changelog :) ### 3.4.0 — 2026-07-28 (We've fixed many of the issues you all have reported in the new Readwise design: from Mastery cards to Share images to typography issues to frequency tuning and much much more. Please keep any feedback you have coming!) Welcome to Readwise 2.0! We've rebuilt the entire app from the ground up: completely refreshed design, smoother animations, and much much faster everywhere. • Daily Review: redesigned with swipeable cards and a new completion screen • Capturing highlights: snap a page with your camera, type one in, or just speak it out loud • Search: completely revamped and much faster • Ghostreader, Chat with Highlights, and Audio Reviews, all in new (easier to find) homes • Literally hundreds of bug fixes and small experience improvements Your account, highlights, streak, and settings carry over automatically. Previously: Themed Connections — We launched a new feature called Themed Connections. By default, you’ll receive a batch of highlights exploring a specific theme or idea each Saturday. This theme will be unique to your highlights and span multiple sources. Since starting Readwise, we’ve heard from thousands of you that one of the most delightful part of reviewing your highlights is the unexpected connections found across sources. This feature supercharges that process. You can now Chat with your Highlights! Ask any question about what you've read, find any highlight effortlessly (it's like superpowered search), and find connections across highlights. This is the biggest new feature to Readwise in over a year, though we still intend to extensively improve it and build even more AI-powered features on top of this base :) You can access Chat from the main Review screen in the app. You'll now also notice a "Find Similar Highlights" button on every highlight you see in Readwise. Hitting this button will quickly pull up semantically related highlights from other books/articles/papers you've highlighted, hopefully sparking unexpected connections. We've wanted to build this feature since we started Readwise 7+ years ago, so excited to share it's finally possible and here :) We also launched a Readwise MCP server, for chatting with your highlights directly from Claude and other apps. And of course, we continue to add many many new features to our Reader app. You can see all of our latest weekly improvements to Readwise/Reader at our changelog at docs.readwise.io/changelog :) ### 3.3.2 — 2026-07-25 Welcome to Readwise 2.0! We've rebuilt the entire app from the ground up: completely refreshed design, smoother animations, and much much faster everywhere. • Daily Review: redesigned with swipeable cards and a new completion screen • Capturing highlights: snap a page with your camera, type one in, or just speak it out loud • Search: completely revamped and much faster • Ghostreader, Chat with Highlights, and Audio Reviews, all in new (easier to find) homes • Literally hundreds of bug fixes and small experience improvements Your account, highlights, streak, and settings carry over automatically. Previously: Themed Connections — We launched a new feature called Themed Connections. By default, you’ll receive a batch of highlights exploring a specific theme or idea each Saturday. This theme will be unique to your highlights and span multiple sources. Since starting Readwise, we’ve heard from thousands of you that one of the most delightful part of reviewing your highlights is the unexpected connections found across sources. This feature supercharges that process. You can now Chat with your Highlights! Ask any question about what you've read, find any highlight effortlessly (it's like superpowered search), and find connections across highlights. This is the biggest new feature to Readwise in over a year, though we still intend to extensively improve it and build even more AI-powered features on top of this base :) You can access Chat from the main Review screen in the app. You'll now also notice a "Find Similar Highlights" button on every highlight you see in Readwise. Hitting this button will quickly pull up semantically related highlights from other books/articles/papers you've highlighted, hopefully sparking unexpected connections. We've wanted to build this feature since we started Readwise 7+ years ago, so excited to share it's finally possible and here :) We also launched a Readwise MCP server, for chatting with your highlights directly from Claude and other apps. And of course, we continue to add many many new features to our Reader app. You can see all of our latest weekly improvements to Readwise/Reader at our changelog at docs.readwise.io/changelog :) ### 3.3.1 — 2026-07-22 Welcome to Readwise 2.0! We've rebuilt the entire app from the ground up: completely refreshed design, smoother animations, and much much faster everywhere. • Daily Review: redesigned with swipeable cards and a new completion screen • Capturing highlights: snap a page with your camera, type one in, or just speak it out loud • Search: completely revamped and much faster • Ghostreader, Chat with Highlights, and Audio Reviews, all in new (easier to find) homes • Literally hundreds of bug fixes and small experience improvements Your account, highlights, streak, and settings carry over automatically. Previously: Themed Connections — We launched a new feature called Themed Connections. By default, you’ll receive a batch of highlights exploring a specific theme or idea each Saturday. This theme will be unique to your highlights and span multiple sources. Since starting Readwise, we’ve heard from thousands of you that one of the most delightful part of reviewing your highlights is the unexpected connections found across sources. This feature supercharges that process. You can now Chat with your Highlights! Ask any question about what you've read, find any highlight effortlessly (it's like superpowered search), and find connections across highlights. This is the biggest new feature to Readwise in over a year, though we still intend to extensively improve it and build even more AI-powered features on top of this base :) You can access Chat from the main Review screen in the app. You'll now also notice a "Find Similar Highlights" button on every highlight you see in Readwise. Hitting this button will quickly pull up semantically related highlights from other books/articles/papers you've highlighted, hopefully sparking unexpected connections. We've wanted to build this feature since we started Readwise 7+ years ago, so excited to share it's finally possible and here :) We also launched a Readwise MCP server, for chatting with your highlights directly from Claude and other apps. And of course, we continue to add many many new features to our Reader app. You can see all of our latest weekly improvements to Readwise/Reader at our changelog at docs.readwise.io/changelog :) ## Apps similar to Readwise | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [RemNote - Notes & Flashcards](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/remnote-notes-and-flashcards/id1545429784) | 4.8 (1,480) | Free | Education | | [Principles In Action](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/principles-in-action/id1211294305) | 4.9 (6,064) | Free | Education | | [Brilliant: Learn Math & Coding](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/brilliant-learn-math-and-coding/id913335252) | 4.7 (31,854) | Free | Education | | [AnkiMobile Flashcards](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ankimobile-flashcards/id373493387) | 4.0 (2,311) | $24.99 | Education | | [Skillshare: Creativity Classes](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/skillshare-creativity-classes/id916819843) | 4.8 (25,352) | Free | Education | | [Shortform Daily Book Summaries](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shortform-daily-book-summaries/id1489472007) | 4.6 (1,388) | Free | Education | ## More apps by Readwise, Inc - [Glose](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/glose/id896681871) - [Readwise Reader](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/readwise-reader/id1567599761) All apps by Readwise, Inc: https://appshunter.io/developer/1476885527 ## Related topics [book highlights](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/book-highlights) · [Readwise](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/readwise) · [readwise reader](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/readwise-reader) · [zachary lawson](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/zachary-lawson) · [instapaper](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/instapaper) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-25.*