Comparison

Readwise Highlights vs Democracy Test Kitchen

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

Head to head
About

Readwise Highlights

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

Democracy Test Kitchen

This non-partisan voter guide helps you understand your ballot. Compare candidate stances on issues, build a personalized voting plan, and find registration and polling place information. Access your plan offline and receive election day reminders.

Highlights
  • View your personalized ballot
  • Compare candidate positions on issues
  • Build and save a voting plan
  • Find registration and polling place info
  • Offline access to your plan
  • Election Day reminders and calendar integration
Features
Read full description

NOT A GOVERNMENT APP: Democracy Test Kitchen is an independent, non-partisan project. It is not a government agency, and it does not represent any government, election office, political party, or candidate. For official election information, contact your state or local election office: https://www.usa.gov/election-office Democracy Test Kitchen is a free, non-partisan voter guide. Enter your address to see the races on your ballot, compare where the candidates stand on the issues you care about, and build a ballot plan to take with you when you vote. WHAT YOU CAN DO • See your ballot: the races and candidates for your address. • Answer short issue questions and compare the candidates' recorded positions side by side. Each position links to its source. • Build your ballot plan, then send it to yourself by email or text, or copy it. • Find out how to register and where to vote in your state. MADE FOR iPHONE • Election Day reminders: one the evening before and one the morning of. • Add Election Day to your calendar, with a link to your plan. • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets that count down to Election Day and show your progress. • Your plan is saved on your phone, so you can read it without a connection. • Shortcuts on the app icon, in Spotlight and in Siri open your ballot or your plan directly. SOURCES OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION The government information in this app comes from these official sources. Always confirm dates, deadlines and polling places with them. • Candidates, races and ballots: each state's official election office. Directory of every state and local election office: https://www.usa.gov/election-office (for example, Washington: https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections and Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/sos/elections) • Voter registration: your state's election office. The official U.S. registration site: https://vote.gov • Election dates: each state's official election calendar, from the state's election office (https://www.usa.gov/election-office). • Polling places: your state's election office (https://www.usa.gov/election-office). • Congressional and legislative districts: Geocodio (https://www.geocod.io) matches your address to the district boundaries published by the U.S. Census Bureau: https://www.census.gov/geographies/mapping-files.html Other sources: • Candidate positions: campaign websites, public statements, voting records, news coverage and social media. Each position in the app links to its source. • Primary dates: National Conference of State Legislatures: https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns • Officeholders and legislation: Open States (https://openstates.org) and LegiScan (https://legiscan.com). Full list of sources: https://www.democracytestkitchen.com/about NON-PARTISAN We do not tell you how to vote, and we do not take sides. When a candidate has not stated a position, we say so, or we label an inferred position and say what it is based on. PRIVACY No ads, no account, and we never sell your data. Your issue answers are not shared with anyone. Privacy policy: https://www.democracytestkitchen.com/privacy

Screenshots

Readwise Highlights4 screens
Democracy Test Kitchen4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Democracy Test Kitchen at none against Readwise Highlights's 8. Democracy Test Kitchen also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks). Readwise Highlights's advantage is ratings volume (1.5K vs 1) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating 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 Highlights sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Democracy Test Kitchen asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Democracy Test Kitchen holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Readwise Highlights has 1.5K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Readwise Highlights ships an update every 2 weeks, Democracy Test Kitchen every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Readwise Highlights versus Democracy Test Kitchen: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReadwise HighlightsDemocracy Test Kitchen
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.5K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews69.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.5K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.5 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size112 MB3 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperReadwise, IncDemocracy Test Kitchen

Customer experience

Readwise Highlights

All ratings1,513 ratings
Positive95.7%
Neutral1.5%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews400 reviews
Positive69.3%
Neutral7.0%
Negative23.8%

Democracy Test Kitchen

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Readwise Highlights

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

Democracy Test Kitchen

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Readwise Highlights

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

Democracy Test Kitchen

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Readwise Highlights free?
Readwise Highlights is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Democracy Test Kitchen free?
Democracy Test Kitchen is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Readwise Highlights or Democracy Test Kitchen?
Democracy Test Kitchen is rated higher. Readwise Highlights averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while Democracy Test Kitchen averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Readwise Highlights or Democracy Test Kitchen have ads?
Neither Readwise Highlights nor Democracy Test Kitchen shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Readwise Highlights or Democracy Test Kitchen?
Readwise Highlights ships an update every 2 weeks, and Democracy Test Kitchen every 2 days. Most recently, Readwise Highlights was updated on November 3, 2026 and Democracy Test Kitchen on October 31, 2026.

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