Comparison

Academia.edu vs Readwise

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

Head to head
About

Academia.edu

Access a vast library of open-access research papers on your mobile device. Discover new studies, track mentions and readership of your work, and connect with fellow scholars. Explore millions of academic papers on diverse topics.

Highlights
  • Discover and read research
  • Save research papers
  • Track mentions and readership
  • Search scholarly topics
  • Connect with scholars
  • View colleague activity
Features
Read full description

Get the world’s largest open access library in your pocket with the Academia mobile app. Use the app to: - Discover, read and save new research - See who has mentioned you in their work. - See who is reading you papers and profiles. - Search for scholarly research on thousands of topics. - Find and connect with like-minded scholars - See what friends and colleagues are working on Academia.edu has over 23 million academic papers to explore from by millions of researchers around the world. Download the app to access your Academia.edu account whenever and wherever your curiosity strikes. __ Academia.edu Terms of Use: https://www.academia.edu/terms

About

Readwise

This app helps you retain more of what you read by centralizing and revisiting your highlights from various reading platforms. It uses spaced repetition and active recall techniques to improve memory and offers features like tagging, note-taking, and OCR for physical books.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

Screenshots

Academia.edu4 screens
Readwise4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Academia.edu at 17K against Readwise's 1.5K. Academia.edu also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.5). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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. Academia.edu sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Readwise sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Academia.edu against 4.8 for Readwise. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Academia.edu has 17K ratings behind it against 1.5K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 74% of Academia.edu's written reviews are positive against 72% of Readwise's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Academia.edu versus Readwise: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAcademia.eduReadwise
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (17K ratings)4.8 (1.5K ratings)
Positive reviews73.7% of reviews — better72.2% of reviews
Number of ratings17K — better1.5K
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.5
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB110 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperAcademia.eduReadwise, Inc

Customer experience

Academia.edu

All ratings16,564 ratings
Positive95.3%
Neutral2.2%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews902 reviews
Positive73.7%
Neutral6.4%
Negative19.8%

Readwise

All ratings1,513 ratings
Positive95.7%
Neutral1.5%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews324 reviews
Positive72.2%
Neutral7.7%
Negative20.1%

User reviews

Academia.edu

From 17K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Helpful for research and learning
  • 📚 Comprehensive academic resources
  • 🔍 Useful for finding relevant papers
  • 🌐 Connects researchers globally
  • 💡 Innovative academic platform

Room to improve

  • 💰 Sudden price increase for Premium
  • 🔍 Unintuitive search and navigation
  • 🔒 Sign-in issues and frequent log-outs
  • 📤 Unwanted notifications and emails
  • 🔍 Difficult to access full papers without subscription

Readwise

From 1.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful spaced repetition
  • 📚 Seamless integration with reading apps
  • 🔍 Helpful AI-powered features
  • 🗓️ Useful daily review routine
  • 🧠 Boosts knowledge retention

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 🔌 Sync issues with some platforms
  • 📱 Subpar mobile app experience
  • 🕰️ Lack of flexibility in daily review
  • 🔍 Limited search functionality

Bugs and requests

Academia.edu

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • PDF files not loading properly
  • Crashing and freezing issues
  • Inconsistent behavior across platforms

Requested features

5 requests
  • Landscape mode support
  • Improved search and filtering options
  • Ability to bookmark and organize papers
  • Better integration with other research tools
  • More transparent pricing and subscription options

Readwise

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Frequent app crashes
  • Sync failures with certain accounts
  • Unreliable highlight capture

Requested features

5 requests
  • 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

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Academia.edu

Subscriptions3
  • Academia Premium - Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Academia Premium - Annual$98.991 Year
  • Academia Premium - Annual7 Days trial$98.991 Year
8 purchases

Readwise

Subscriptions8
  • Readwise Lite Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Readwise Lite Monthly$6.991 Month
  • Readwise Full Monthly Plan$8.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Readwise Full Monthly$12.991 Month
  • Readwise Lite Yearly$52.991 Year
  • Readwise Lite Yearly$66.991 Year
  • Readwise Full Yearly$94.991 Year
  • Readwise Full Yearly$119.991 Year

Questions

Is Academia.edu free?
Academia.edu is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Readwise free?
Readwise is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Academia.edu or Readwise?
Academia.edu and Readwise are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 17K and 1.5K ratings respectively.
Do Academia.edu or Readwise have ads?
Neither Academia.edu nor Readwise shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Academia.edu or Readwise?
Academia.edu ships an update every 2 weeks, and Readwise every 2 weeks. Most recently, Academia.edu was updated on September 23, 2026 and Readwise on September 24, 2026.

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