# Readwise vs Thought Saver

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.

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.

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.

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

## The numbers

| Metric | Readwise | Thought Saver |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (1.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/readwise/id1476885528/reviews) | **[4.9 (14 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/thought-saver-daily-routine/id1643089730/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **1.5K** | 14 |
| Positive reviews | 72.3% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 110 MB | 41 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Readwise, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1476885527) | [SparkWave](https://appshunter.io/developer/1385740391) |

## What reviewers say

### 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


### Thought Saver

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/thought-saver-daily-routine/id1643089730)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


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