# Notesnook vs Readwise Reader

Notesnook and Readwise Reader are too close to call on the numbers: across 10 compared parameters — price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

Both are free to download. Notesnook sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Readwise Reader sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 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 — 4.7 for Notesnook against 4.6 for Readwise Reader. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 670 and 585 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 79% of Notesnook's written reviews are positive against 72% of Readwise Reader's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notesnook | Readwise Reader |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (670 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notesnook-private-notepad/id1544027013/reviews)** | [4.6 (585 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/readwise-reader/id1567599761/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **670** | 585 |
| Positive reviews | **78.6% of reviews** | 71.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Weekly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 89 MB | 193 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Streetwriters LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1536533660) | [Readwise, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1476885527) |

## What reviewers say

### Notesnook

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notesnook-private-notepad/id1544027013)

This open-source app offers secure, encrypted note-taking and organization across all your devices. It features a robust editor, to-do lists, and a private journal with advanced security to protect your personal information.

**Highlights:** Military-grade encryption, Cross-platform synchronization, To-do lists and task management, Private journal with media support, Rich text and Markdown editor, Notebook organization, App lock with fingerprint support

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (17)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Notesnook Pro | $0.99 | per month |
| Notesnook Essential Plan | $1.99 | per month |
| Notesnook Pro | $2.49 | per month |
| Notesnook Pro Plan | $2.99 | per month |
| Notesnook Pro | $4.49 | per month |
| Notesnook Pro | $4.49 | per month |
| Notesnook Pro Plan | $6.99 | per month |
| Notesnook Believer Plan | $8.99 | per month |
| Notesnook Pro | $9.99 | per year |
| Notesnook Essential Plan | $19.99 | per year |
| Notesnook Pro | $24.99 | per year |
| Notesnook Pro Plan | $29.90 | per year |
| Notesnook Pro Yearly | $49.99 | per year |
| Notesnook Pro | $49.99 | per year |
| Notesnook Pro | $49.99 | per year |
| Notesnook Pro Plan | $69.99 | per year |
| Notesnook Believer Plan | $89.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 🔒 Secure and private
- 👍 Clean and intuitive UI
- 👍 Cross-platform compatibility
- 👍 Generous free tier

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Sync and login issues
- 🐛 Buggy and crashes
- 💰 Expensive premium tier
- 🔒 Lack of free encryption features

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes on launch on older iOS devices
- Sync issues leading to data loss
- Unreliable login and verification process

**Requested features**

- Improved search functionality
- Reminders and calendar integration
- Handwriting and drawing support
- Multilingual support
- Improved table and spreadsheet features


### Readwise Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/readwise-reader/id1567599761)

This app consolidates all your reading content, including web articles, newsletters, and PDFs, into a single, organized platform. It offers advanced highlighting, text-to-speech, and AI-powered assistance to enhance your reading workflow and knowledge retention.

**Highlights:** Consolidate web articles, newsletters, RSS, Twitter threads, PDFs, EPUBs, Import from Pocket, Instapaper, and Feedly, Advanced highlighting and annotation tools, Text-to-speech narration, AI-powered reading assistant (Ghostreader), Full-text search, Syncs across all devices, offline access

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reader Monthly Plan | $8.99 | per month |
| Reader Monthly | $12.99 | per month |
| Reader Annual Plan | $95.90 | per year |
| Reader Yearly | $119.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fantastic reading experience
- 👍 Seamless integration with Readwise
- 🎨 Beautiful and intuitive UI
- 📚 All-in-one reading solution
- 🔍 Powerful search and organization

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes and performance issues
- 🔍 Cluttered interface for some users
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🖥️ Lack of iPad-specific features
- 📚 Missing basic reader features (e.g., bookmarks)

**Reported bugs**

- Inconsistent sync between devices
- Unreliable RSS feed updates
- Frequent crashes on iPad
- Issues with resuming reading position

**Requested features**

- Improved PDF and ebook support
- Customizable reading themes and layouts
- Better integration with note-taking apps
- Reading progress and statistics tracking
- Bulk management of saved items


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Notesnook free?

Notesnook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Readwise Reader free?

Readwise Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Notesnook or Readwise Reader?

Notesnook is rated higher. Notesnook averages 4.7 out of 5 from 670 ratings, while Readwise Reader averages 4.6 from 585 ratings.

### Do Notesnook or Readwise Reader have ads?

Neither Notesnook nor Readwise Reader shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Notesnook or Readwise Reader?

Notesnook ships an update weekly, and Readwise Reader weekly. Most recently, Notesnook was updated on October 7, 2026 and Readwise Reader on October 8, 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.*