Readwise Reader vs XRead
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Readwise Reader
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.
- 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
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Readwise Reader is the first read-it-later app built specifically for power readers. If you’ve ever used Instapaper or Pocket, Reader is like those except it’s built for 2024 and brings all your reading into one place including: web articles, email newsletters, RSS feeds, Twitter threads, PDFs, EPUBs and more. ______________________ “Reader has completely redesigned the read-it-later app. It’s gorgeous and blazingly fast. In many ways, it’s the Superhuman of reading — you won’t want to read anywhere else.” Rahul Vohra (Founder of Superhuman) “I spend my entire day reading, researching, & writing and Readwise is the reading tool I’ve been waiting for. The perfect complement to my writing workflow. Absolute game changer.” Packy Mccormick (Author of Not Boring) “The Readwise reading app is the first read-it-later app that enables a true workflow for serious readers. As an ex-Pocket /Instapaper power user, it's hard to imagine ever going back.” Fitz Maro (Creative Technology Lead at Pinterest) ______________________ ALL YOUR READING IN ONE PLACE Stop juggling half a dozen reading apps. Reader brings all your content into one place including: • Web articles • Email newsletters • RSS feeds • Twitter threads • PDFs • EPUBs You can even import your existing library from Pocket and Instapaper and RSS feeds from Feedly, Inoreader, Feedbin, etc. POWERFUL HIGHLIGHTING FOR POWER READERS We believe that annotations are the key to getting more out of what you read. So we’ve developed highlighting as a first-class feature inside Reader. Highlight images, links, rich text, and more. On any device. READER WILL CHANGE THE WAY YOU READ We’ve reinvented the digital reading experience to apply the power of software to the printed word. This includes TEXT-TO-SPEECH (listen to any document narrated with the lifelike voice of a real human), GHOSTREADER (your integrated copilot of reading enabling you to ask questions, define terms, simplify complex language, and more), and FULL-TEXT SEARCH (find whatever you’re looking for, even if you only remember a single word). FLEXIBLE SOFTWARE TO FIT YOUR UNIQUE NEEDS Your personal interests, your professional projects, your way of doing things — they’re unique. Reader is your home base for the varied documents in your life, customizable to match the way your brain works. PDFs for work, articles for your newsletter, and ebooks for pleasure all live comfortably side-by-side. No more juggling dozens of apps. INTEGRATED WITH YOUR FAVORITE TOOLS Your annotations should flow effortlessly from your reading app into your writing tool of choice. Instead you waste hours reformatting, reorganizing, and repeating. Reader eliminates this hassle. Reader seamlessly connects to Readwise which exports to Obsidian, Notion, Roam Research, Evernote, Logseq, and more READ ANYWHERE, ANYTIME Access all of your content from any of your devices with everything in sync. Even offline. Reader syncs across all platforms, including a powerful, local-first web app and iOS. You can even highlight the open web with the Reader browser extensions. ______________________ If you’re not already a Readwise subscriber, you can get a free 30-day trial with no credit card upfront. At the end of the trial, you will not be charged unless you choose to subscribe. Support: Check out readwise.io/faq or email us at hello@readwise.io Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://readwise.io/privacy
XRead
Easily read long tweets and entire threads without interruptions. Paste links to view content in a smooth, distraction-free format, eliminating the need for "Show More" buttons and timeline clutter.
- Paste tweet or thread links
- Seamless thread viewing
- Distraction-free reading
- Minimalist interface
- Read long tweets easily
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Save any tweet or thread from X in two taps and read it later in a clean, distraction-free reader. Even offline. XRead turns the posts you want to keep into a real library you can organize and search. SAVE IN TWO TAPS • Share any post or thread from X straight to XRead • Or copy a link and XRead offers to save it • Whole threads are saved with images, quoted and replied posts READ WITHOUT DISTRACTIONS • Full threads in one smooth scroll, no "Show more" • Adjustable text size, serif fonts and line spacing • Light, dark and sepia themes • Your library is stored on your device and works offline ORGANIZE YOUR LIBRARY • Folders, tags, favorites and pins • Mark items as read or unread • Filter by author, date, folder, tag or media FIND ANYTHING • Search titles and authors instantly • Full-text search looks inside every post of every thread XREAD PRO • No ads • Unlimited saves every month • Unlimited folders • Full-text search • Notes on your saves Choose monthly, yearly (with a 3-day free trial) or a one-time lifetime purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://x-read-landing.vercel.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://x-read-landing.vercel.app/privacy-policy XRead is an independent app and is not affiliated with X Corp.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Readwise Reader at weekly against XRead's every 2 months. XRead's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 72%) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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
Both are free to download. Readwise Reader sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month and XRead sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Readwise Reader ships an update weekly, XRead every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Readwise Reader | XRead |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (585 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 72.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 585 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 193 MB | 66 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Readwise, Inc | Mert OZDIN |
Customer experience
Readwise Reader
XRead
Bugs and requests
Readwise Reader
Reported bugs
4 issues- Inconsistent sync between devices
- Unreliable RSS feed updates
- Frequent crashes on iPad
- Issues with resuming reading position
Requested features
5 requests- 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
XRead
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Readwise Reader
- Reader Monthly Plan$8.991 Month
- Reader Monthly$12.991 Month
- Reader Annual Plan$95.901 Year
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- Reader Yearly$119.991 Year
XRead
- XRead Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
- XRead Pro Yearly3 Days trial$29.991 Year
- XRead Pro Lifetime$49.99









