Granta vs Readwise Books
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Granta
Access a curated collection of acclaimed literary journalism, fiction, poetry, memoir, and photography. Enjoy exclusive weekly content and a vast archive of past issues spanning thirty years. Stay updated with quarterly releases from established and emerging authors.
- Quarterly literary magazine
- Mix of fiction, poetry, memoir, journalism
- Exclusive weekly content
- Archive of 30+ years
- Work by established and emerging authors
- Photography included
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Granta is one of the world's most respected literary magazines, acclaimed for the quality of its writing and for its mix of established and emerging authors. Published quarterly in book form Granta is respected around the world for its eclectic combination of journalism, fiction, poetry, memoir and photography. Alongside exclusive free weekly content, readers can access each new issue of Granta on the day of publication, as well as over one thousand pieces of writing and photography from previous Granta magazines over the last thirty years by purchasing an annual subscription. Annual subscriptions can be purchased and these subscriptions will auto-renew until you choose to cancel. N.B. - The price of the annual subscription is £23.99 - Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Your subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period - Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period - You can manage your subscription and switch off the auto-renewal by accessing your Account Settings after purchase - No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period Please see here for our privacy policy and terms: http://granta.com/privacy-statement/ http://granta.com/terms/ Our archive contains work by writers like Margaret Atwood, Ann Beattie, Roberto Bolaño, Anne Carson, Raymond Carver, Lydia Davis, Don DeLillo, Bret Easton Ellis, Nadine Gordimer, Kazuo Ishiguro, Alice Munro, Haruki Murakami, Salman Rushdie, Paul Theroux, Binyavanga Wainaina, Jeanette Winterson and many more. ‘In its blend of memoirs and photojournalism, and in its championing of contemporary realist fiction, Granta has its face pressed firmly against the window, determined to witness the world.’ – The Observer
Readwise Books
This app allows you to buy, read, and track all your books in one place. It automatically logs your reading sessions and provides detailed metrics to help you improve. Share your reading progress with friends in a low-pressure social feed.
- Unified book library
- Automatic reading session logging
- Detailed reading metrics
- Print book tracking
- Highlighting and note-taking
- Optional social feed
- EPUB audiobook playback
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Readwise Books is invite-only for now. You'll need an invite code from a friend to create an account. (If you're an existing Readwise subscriber, you already have early access.) A reading app unlike any other. Buy, read, and track all your books in one beautiful place. ONE PLACE FOR EVERY BOOK Read the ebooks you buy or upload. Track the rest, whether print, audio, or ebooks from elsewhere. Import your shelves from Goodreads and your Kindle library to start. THE STRAVA OF READING Every page flip is logged automatically, the way a pedometer counts steps. Pages roll up into reading sessions. Sessions roll up into weeks, months, and years. METRICS THAT MATTER Visualize rich reading data like words read, time read, pace, depth, immersion, and more. That which is measured is improved. EVERY BOOK COUNTS Reading on paper? Capture your starting and ending page, then save your session. Highlight print books with your camera. READING, ELEVATED Beautiful typography, light and dark modes, pagination or scroll, and best-in-class highlighting, notes, and tags. READING ALONE IS BETTER, TOGETHER Your sessions post to a light feed where friends can see that you're reading. No likes to chase, nothing to perform. More coffee shop than social network. And only if you want to. LISTEN, TOO Upload any DRM-free EPUB and listen with lifelike voices while the text follows along. READWISE ECOSYSTEM One account across Readwise Books, Reader, and Highlights. Every highlight syncs instantly.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Readwise Books at 98% against Granta's 9%. Readwise Books also leads on rating (5.0 vs 1.4) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). Granta's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.1). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Granta sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $31.99 per year. Readwise Books asks for nothing beyond the download.
Readwise Books holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Readwise Books has 170 ratings behind it against 34, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 9% of Granta's written reviews are positive against 98% of Readwise Books's.
Granta ships an update every 6 months, Readwise Books every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Granta | Readwise Books |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.4 (34 ratings) | 5.0 (170 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 8.5% of reviews | 97.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 34 | 170 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #105 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 133 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Granta | Readwise, Inc |
Customer experience
Granta
Readwise Books
Bugs and requests
Granta
Reported bugs
132 issues- Subscription restore issues
- Weekly feature not refreshing
- App requires login almost every time
- Internet connection required message despite connection
- Blank screen when tapping articles
Show 127 moreShow fewer
- Weekly section not working
- Issue cover disappears
- Share link goes to homepage
- Login details not remembered
- No landscape support
- Menu navigation unclear
- Moving images for show
- Annoying navigation
- Weird division between 'the weekly' and 'the library'
- Keeps signing out
- Cannot adjust font size
- Needs night mode
- Scrolling off-center sends to another article
- Doesn't remember reading position
- Cannot bookmark within an article
- App has been problematic for years
- Login function hidden
- Sign-in info not remembered for long
- Last lines of articles cut off
- App doesn't work on iPad
- Screen rotation hit-or-miss
- Overall experience stinks
- App needs a refresh
- Text size is too small
- Roulette wheel of chance when reading
- Sign in EVERY time
- App crashes all the time
- Looks hideous and uncomfortable to use
- Cannot access account after forgetting password
- Email for recovery not recognized
- App only works in portrait mode
- Images are pixelated
- Photo features lump photographs together
- Cannot bookmark one's location
- App has not been updated in ages
- App doesn't remember login details
- Cannot swipe to next article
- App just doesn’t work on an IPad
- Screen rotation is hit-or-miss
- Navigation is really unintuitive
- App is in desperate need of a refresh
- Type size too small
- Scrolling up the page is wrong
- Cannot bookmark a single page
- No night time mode
- App crashes constantly
- Asks to login almost every time
- App makes reading a hassle
- Cannot alter text size
- Sign in Each time I open the app
- Won’t take me past title pages
- Deleting and redownloading doesn't solve problem
- App freezes when accessing the Weekly
- Magazine pages do not display
- Only table of contents displayed
- App updates seem to fix issues
- Cannot download anything beyond the title
- No app support found
- No bug fixes or developments in over a year
- App doesn’t work
- Magazine doesn’t reply to emails
- White screen when trying to read downloaded issue
- Obscure app
- Online only subscription a mistake
- Cannot access any editions (blank pages)
- Struggling to read issues
- Cannot read any of the articles
- Blank screen where text should be
- App is usually not functional
- App does not work. Period.
- Horrible app
- App totally unusable
- Refuses to provide support
- Emails to support not answered
- App does not work with recent iOS 11
- Weekly pieces section not opening
- App is basically becoming useless
- Free section doesn't work
- Just a 'G' in the middle of the screen
- App doesn't support landscape mode
- Logins on app and website don't recognize user
- Publisher doesn't respond to requests
- No functionality for reading offline
- No search functionality
- Navigation and menus not labelled or intuitive
- App is too much like hard work to read
- User experience is terrible
- Developers didn't ask users for feedback
- Developers didn't look at other apps
- Forces portrait format
- No method of storing read content
- Bookmarking does nothing
- Doesn't remember book or page place
- Interface is barren and not user friendly
- Content can't be accessed offline
- No access to content after subscribing
- App won't let me sign in
- Authentication info incorrect
- Customer service hasn't answered email
- Password reset email not received
- Logs out every time
- Tedious to login every time
- Download doesn't mean offline viewing
- Need for internet connection is a waste
- Interface is clunky and confusing
- Takes me to the last issue I was reading
- Have to delete and reinstall to look at another issue
- Nothing shows up
- Not optimized for newer iPhones
- App goes nowhere near doing justice to content
- Can't sign in because App Store didn't give subscription number
- Surly customer service agent
- Not in the system
- Text is not adjustable
- Impossible to read on iPad pro
- Scrolling often switches to a different one
- Lose place when scrolling
- No way to delete downloaded editions
- Menu bar flashing distractingly
- Hard to navigate
- Lacks good overview of contents
- Frequently lose what I'm reading
- No way to connect print subscription
- Nothing helpful on the website
- App signs me out automatically
- Doesn't keep your spot in a piece
- App needs to be re-designed
Requested features
13 requests- Ability to adjust text size
- Dark mode
- Pagination options
- Share link to article
- Landscape mode support
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Offline reading
- Search functionality
- Bookmark specific pages
- Mark articles as read
- Hide read articles
- Delete downloaded editions
- Sync print subscription
- Kindle download access
Readwise Books
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Granta
- Granta Digital Subscription$31.991 Year
Readwise Books
No in-app purchases









