# Readwise Reader vs Listening

Readwise Reader and Listening both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 72% of Readwise Reader's written reviews are positive against 28% of Listening's. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Readwise Reader sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month and Listening sells 19 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Readwise Reader holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 579 and 1.4K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of Readwise Reader's written reviews are positive against 28% of Listening's.

Readwise Reader ships an update weekly, Listening every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Readwise Reader | Listening |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (579 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/readwise-reader/id1567599761/reviews)** | [4.4 (1.4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/listening-text-to-speech/id1635430768/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 579 | **1.4K** |
| Positive reviews | **72.0% of reviews** | 28.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 8 days |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 178 MB | 119 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 16.4 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Readwise, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1476885527) | [The Listening App Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1635259485) |

## What reviewers say

### 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


### Listening

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/listening-text-to-speech/id1635430768)

Transform written content like articles, papers, and PDFs into natural-sounding audio. Ideal for students and professionals, this app enables hands-free learning and efficient multitasking.

**Highlights:** Convert articles, papers, books, and PDFs to audio, Natural-sounding human-like voices, One-click note-taking while listening, Adjustable playback speed (0.5x to 4x), Supports PDFs, Word documents, and articles, Efficient multitasking during listening

**Features:** Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (19)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlimited Listening, Monthly | $12.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Listening, Monthly | $12.99 | per month |
| Unlimited, Monthly | $12.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Listening, Monthly | $12.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Listening, Monthly | $14.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Listening, Monthly | $19.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Listening, Monthly | $19.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Listening, Monthly | $24.99 | per month |
| Unlimited, Yearly | $29.99 | per year |
| Unlimited, Yearly | $39.00 | per year |
| Unlimited, Yearly | $39.00 | per year |
| Listening Premium Annual | $79.99 | per year |
| Unlimited Listening, Yearly | $99.00 | per year |
| Unlimited Listening, Yearly | $99.99 | per year |
| Unlimited Listening, Yearly | $99.99 | per year |
| Unlimited Listening, Yearly | $99.99 | per year |
| Unlimited Listening, Yearly | $119.99 | per year |
| Unlimited Listening, Yearly | $124.99 | per year |
| Unlimited Listening, Yearly | $139.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Clear and natural-sounding voice
- 📚 Helpful for academic papers and articles
- 🚶‍♀️ Convenient for listening on-the-go
- 🔖 Skips citations and formatting

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy PDF conversion
- 🔀 Jumbles paragraphs and sentences
- 🔢 Struggles with technical terms and numbers
- 💰 Expensive subscription
- 🔒 Difficult to cancel subscription

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent app crashes
- Inconsistent performance across PDFs
- Login and password reset issues
- Unexpected charges after cancellation
- Inability to delete or manage uploaded files

**Requested features**

- Multiple voice options
- Ability to edit and annotate text
- Improved section detection and navigation
- Offline mode for downloading content
- Better integration with cloud storage


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Readwise Reader free?

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

### Is Listening free?

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

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

Readwise Reader is rated higher. Readwise Reader averages 4.6 out of 5 from 579 ratings, while Listening averages 4.4 from 1.4K ratings.

### Do Readwise Reader or Listening have ads?

Neither Readwise Reader nor Listening shows ads.

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

Readwise Reader ships an update weekly, and Listening every 8 days. Most recently, Readwise Reader was updated on September 24, 2026 and Listening on September 23, 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.*