Comparison

Readwise vs Thought Saver

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

Head to head
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

About

Thought Saver

This app helps you build a better daily routine with tools like meditation timers, journaling, and chatbots. It also uses spaced repetition to help you remember important ideas and offers daily quizzes and pre-made flashcard decks for learning.

Highlights
  • Daily routine integration
  • Spaced repetition algorithm
  • Meditation timers
  • Gratitude journaling
  • Interactive chatbots
  • Daily quizzes
  • Flashcard decks
Features
Read full description

Discover a refreshed Thought Saver - your free, everyday companion for personal growth. We've added features to help you shape a wholesome daily routine, alongside our smart spaced repetition algorithm that helps remember important ideas. New routine tools: Integrate meditation timers, interactive chatbots, and gratitude journaling into your day. Smart spaced repetition: Our algorithm considers the importance of an idea and how well you recall it, helping you remember what truly matters. Daily quizzes: Expand your learning streak with handy quiz reminders. Idea exploration: Draw inspiration from our pre-existing flashcard decks and learn something new every day. Multi-platform sync: Seamless sync between our web app, mobile, and browser extension. Offline access: Create cards and take quizzes offline - we'll auto-sync once you're back online. Share with friends: Effortlessly share your cards and ideas via our cloud-based auto-syncing.

Screenshots

Readwise4 screens
Thought Saver4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Thought Saver at none against Readwise's 8. Thought Saver also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 72%). Readwise's advantage is ratings volume (1.5K vs 14). On price, rating, 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. Readwise sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Thought Saver asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Readwise against 4.9 for Thought Saver. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Readwise has 1.5K ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 72% of Readwise's written reviews are positive against 100% of Thought Saver's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Readwise versus Thought Saver: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReadwiseThought Saver
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.5K ratings)4.9 (14 ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.5K — better14
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.515.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size110 MB41 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperReadwise, IncSparkWave

Customer experience

Readwise

All ratings1,513 ratings
Positive95.7%
Neutral1.5%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews325 reviews
Positive72.3%
Neutral7.7%
Negative20.0%

Thought Saver

All ratings14 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

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

Thought Saver

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

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
None

Thought Saver

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Readwise free?
Readwise is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Thought Saver free?
Thought Saver is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Readwise or Thought Saver?
Thought Saver is rated higher. Readwise averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while Thought Saver averages 4.9 from 14 ratings.
Do Readwise or Thought Saver have ads?
Neither Readwise nor Thought Saver shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Readwise or Thought Saver?
Readwise ships an update every 2 weeks, and Thought Saver every 2 weeks. Most recently, Readwise was updated on October 20, 2026 and Thought Saver on October 14, 2026.

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