# Academia.edu vs Readwise

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.

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.

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.

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

## The numbers

| Metric | Academia.edu | Readwise |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (17K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/academiaedu/id1385234213/reviews) | [4.8 (1.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/readwise/id1476885528/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **17K** | 1.5K |
| Positive reviews | **73.7% of reviews** | 72.2% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 52 MB | 110 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 15.5 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Academia.edu](https://appshunter.io/developer/1385234212) | [Readwise, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1476885527) |

## What reviewers say

### Academia.edu

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/academiaedu/id1385234213)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Academia Premium - Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Academia Premium - Annual | $98.99 | per year |
| Academia Premium - Annual | $98.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

- 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

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/readwise/id1476885528)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Readwise Lite Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Readwise Lite Monthly | $6.99 | per month |
| Readwise Full Monthly Plan | $8.99 | per month |
| Readwise Full Monthly | $12.99 | per month |
| Readwise Lite Yearly | $52.99 | per year |
| Readwise Lite Yearly | $66.99 | per year |
| Readwise Full Yearly | $94.99 | per year |
| Readwise Full Yearly | $119.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent app crashes
- Sync failures with certain accounts
- Unreliable highlight capture

**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


## Frequently asked 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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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*