# HY vs Readwise Reader

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: HY at none against Readwise Reader's 4. HY also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). Readwise Reader's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 6 months). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Readwise Reader sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. HY asks for nothing beyond the download.

HY ships an update every 6 months, Readwise Reader weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | HY | Readwise Reader |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | **[4.6 (585 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/readwise-reader/id1567599761/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **585** |
| Positive reviews | — | 71.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 82 MB | 193 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Librestream Technologies Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/549869787) | [Readwise, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1476885527) |

## What reviewers say

### HY

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hy-shield-virtual-expert/id1560413327)

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### 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 HY free?

HY is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Readwise Reader free?

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

### Do HY or Readwise Reader have ads?

Neither HY nor Readwise Reader shows ads.

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

HY ships an update every 6 months, and Readwise Reader weekly. Most recently, HY was updated on October 3, 2026 and Readwise Reader on October 13, 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.*