Comparison

Wallabag Reader vs Swift Paperless

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

Head to head
About

Wallabag Reader

Save web pages for later reading with this self-hostable application. It offers a free and open-source solution for bookmarking content. Requires a separate wallabag instance to function.

Highlights
  • Save web pages
  • Self-hostable
  • Open source
  • Free (as in freedom)
  • Offline reading
Features
Read full description

Save web articles and read them later—on your terms. Wallabag Reader is the open-source companion for wallabag. Connect to your self-hosted server or a compatible hosted wallabag account, sync your reading list, and keep your archive available on iPhone and iPad. SAVE FROM ANYWHERE • Send pages from Safari and other apps with the Share extension • Add a URL manually or from your clipboard • Sync article content to read without an internet connection READ COMFORTABLY • Enjoy a clean article reader with adjustable text size and light or dark themes • Highlight passages and create, edit, or delete annotations • Listen to articles with built-in text-to-speech • Open the original page or share it with others ORGANIZE YOUR ARCHIVE • Search and filter unread, archived, and starred articles • Sort by date, reading time, or identifier • Add and remove tags, mark articles as read, and favorite what matters • Rediscover short reads, random picks, and tags from the Discover tab YOUR WALLABAG, YOUR CHOICE wallabag is free and open source. This app connects to an existing wallabag instance; it does not create or host one for you. Self-host wallabag on your own server or use a compatible hosted provider. WALLABAG PLUS Core reading and organization features remain available without Plus. An optional auto-renewing wallabag Plus subscription unlocks AI-powered summaries and tag suggestions. Available plans, duration, price, and renewal terms are shown before purchase and may vary by region. Manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store account settings. Privacy policy and terms of use: https://district-web.fr/wallabag-reader/privacy/

About

Swift Paperless

This app allows users to manage documents directly from their iOS device. It seamlessly integrates with a self-hosted document management system, ensuring data privacy and control. Easily find, categorize, and add new documents on the go.

Highlights
  • Native iOS integration
  • Paperless-ngx compatibility
  • Document finding
  • Document categorization
  • Add documents from phone
Features
Read full description

Swift Paperless is a native iOS app that interacts with the popular Paperless-ngx document management software. Paperless-ngx is self-hosted, and therefore fully privacy preserving: you control your data! With Swift Paperless, it's easy to find, categorize and also add documents from your phone!

Screenshots

Wallabag Reader2 screens
Swift Paperless4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Swift Paperless at 97% against Wallabag Reader's 44%. Swift Paperless also leads on rating (4.9 vs 3.4) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Wallabag Reader sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Swift Paperless sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Swift Paperless holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 38 and 77 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 44% of Wallabag Reader's written reviews are positive against 97% of Swift Paperless's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Wallabag Reader ships an update every 4 weeks, Swift Paperless monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Wallabag Reader versus Swift Paperless: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWallabag ReaderSwift Paperless
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.4 (38 ratings)4.9 (77 ratings) — better
Positive reviews43.6% of reviews97.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3877 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developermaxime marinelPaul Gessinger

Customer experience

Wallabag Reader

All ratings38 ratings
Positive60.5%
Neutral5.3%
Negative34.2%
Written reviews78 reviews
Positive43.6%
Neutral15.4%
Negative41.0%

Swift Paperless

All ratings72 ratings
Positive98.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews67 reviews
Positive97.0%
Neutral1.5%
Negative1.5%

Bugs and requests

Wallabag Reader

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Swift Paperless

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • Metadata box not resizable on iPhone 13 Mini
  • Document upload screen sometimes exits unexpectedly
  • Extra step to access iOS share sheet
  • Cannot scroll multi-page PDFs on iPad
  • Server removal from list upon logout
Show 2 more
  • Editing area only half screen after update
  • App crying about certificate issue with HTTPS

Requested features

12 requests
  • Ability to quickly open next document in current view (like 'save & next')
  • Option to hide preview side bar for full-screen document view
  • Smarter server management in multi-instance setup
  • Ability to search within a document
  • Support for Title view only without thumbnails
Show 7 more
  • Siri Shortcuts support for adding documents
  • Option to add from a network scanner
  • Support for SSO
  • Ability to copy file content from the app
  • Option to send documents from archive via share menu (e.g., email)
  • Grid view with thumbnails on iPad
  • Direct donation link in the app

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Wallabag Reader

Subscriptions2
  • Wallabag Plus$2.991 Month
  • Yearly$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Tips$0.99
4 purchases

Swift Paperless

One-time4
  • Coffee money$3.99
  • Proper thank-you$8.99
  • Above and beyond$17.99
Show 1 more
  • Legendary generosity$44.99

Questions

Is Wallabag Reader free?
Wallabag Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Swift Paperless free?
Swift Paperless is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Wallabag Reader or Swift Paperless?
Swift Paperless is rated higher. Wallabag Reader averages 3.4 out of 5 from 38 ratings, while Swift Paperless averages 4.9 from 77 ratings.
Do Wallabag Reader or Swift Paperless have ads?
Neither Wallabag Reader nor Swift Paperless shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Wallabag Reader or Swift Paperless?
Wallabag Reader ships an update every 4 weeks, and Swift Paperless monthly. Most recently, Wallabag Reader was updated on November 2, 2026 and Swift Paperless on November 3, 2026.

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