Dark Reader for Safari vs The Magic Highlighter
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dark Reader for Safari
This Safari extension transforms websites into dark themes, reducing eye strain and improving readability. It offers customizable brightness, contrast, and color themes, and seamlessly integrates with system dark mode. Enjoy a comfortable browsing experience, especially in low light conditions.
- Creates dark themes for websites
- Adjustable brightness and contrast
- Multiple color theme presets
- Customizable background and text colors
- Enable/disable for specific websites
- Syncs with system dark mode
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Dark Reader is an eye-care Safari extension that enables night mode by creating dark themes for websites on the fly. It inverts bright colors to make web pages high contrast and easier to read. Dark Reader integrates seamlessly with system dark mode. Adjust brightness and contrast to match your display and ambient lighting. Enable dark mode on every web page or give websites a sepia tone. Select from multiple color theme presets or create your own by customizing background and text colors. Enable or disable Dark Reader for specific websites, automatically sync with system dark mode, or detect already dark websites and leave them unchanged. Developed by the original creators of Dark Reader. Since 2014, we continuously evolve alongside modern web technologies to deliver fast and reliable dark mode support for people sensitive to bright light. A single purchase includes access to the macOS version (Safari browser) when using the same iCloud account. Dark Reader contains no ads and does not collect user data. Enable Dark Reader in Safari preferences and disable similar extensions to prevent conflicts. Enjoy browsing!
The Magic Highlighter
This Safari extension automatically highlights your search terms on search result pages across popular engines. It offers a private, on-device solution to quickly find the information you need, replacing traditional find-in-page functions with enhanced capabilities.
- Highlights search terms automatically
- Supports popular search engines
- 100% private, on-device processing
- Replaces 'Find in page'
- Customizable highlight colors
- Highlights multiple terms
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Introducing the Magic Highlighter, a Safari Extension for iPhone, iPad, and Mac that automatically highlights search terms and phrases on search result web pages. Find what you’ve been searching for. * Supports all popular search engines, including Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, Neeva, Kagi, and Brave Search! * %100 private! All data processed on-device, with no data collection * Automatically highlight search terms and phrases on search result web pages * Full replacement for the "Find in page" share sheet action, and the ⌘-F keyboard shortcut! * Use the ⌘-Shift-F keyboard shortcut on Mac and iPad (with external keyboard) to change highlight colors, and disable highlights for specific terms and phrases * Supports highlighting MULTIPLE terms and phrases ⌘-F(TW)!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Dark Reader for Safari at 4.3 against The Magic Highlighter's 3.9. Dark Reader for Safari also leads on review sentiment (64% vs 47%) and ratings volume (285 vs 20). The Magic Highlighter's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and price ($1.99 vs $4.99). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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
Dark Reader for Safari costs $4.99 and The Magic Highlighter $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Dark Reader for Safari holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dark Reader for Safari has 285 ratings behind it against 20, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Dark Reader for Safari's written reviews are positive against 47% of The Magic Highlighter's.
Dark Reader for Safari ships an update every 2 months, The Magic Highlighter every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dark Reader for Safari | The Magic Highlighter |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (285 ratings) — better | 3.9 (20 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 64.4% of reviews — better | 46.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 285 — better | 20 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #17 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dark Reader Ltd | Herd Works Inc |
Customer experience
Dark Reader for Safari
The Magic Highlighter
Bugs and requests
Dark Reader for Safari
Reported bugs
3 issues- Extension stops working after Safari has been open for a while
- Fails to load on certain websites
- Inverts colors incorrectly on some websites
Requested features
5 requests- Per-site settings for Dynamic vs Filter modes
- Automatic dark mode based on time of day
- Ability to customize accent colors
- Support for PDF documents
- Sync settings across devices
The Magic Highlighter
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Dark Reader for Safari
No in-app purchases
The Magic Highlighter
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Dark Reader for Safari free?
Is The Magic Highlighter free?
Which has better reviews, Dark Reader for Safari or The Magic Highlighter?
Do Dark Reader for Safari or The Magic Highlighter have ads?
Which is updated more often, Dark Reader for Safari or The Magic Highlighter?
Other comparisons
