Comparison

Instapaper vs theSkimm

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

Head to head
About

Instapaper

Save articles from the web for later reading, with a clean, clutter-free experience. Access your saved content offline, anywhere, anytime. Features include text-to-speech narration and customizable reading options.

Highlights
  • Save web articles for offline reading
  • Clutter-free reading experience
  • Text-to-speech narration
  • Customizable fonts and themes
  • Highlighting and note-taking
  • Article organization with folders
Features
Read full description

Instapaper is the simplest way to save and store articles for reading: offline, on-the-go, anytime, anywhere, perfectly formatted. Instapaper for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch provides a mobile-optimized text view that makes reading Internet content a clean and uncluttered experience. Instapaper also enhances the standard reading experience with features like text-to-speech. Instapaper has been inducted into the iPhone and iPad Hall of Fame, received Macworld Editor's Choice Award, and has also been featured in publications including Wired, TIME, Daring Fireball, and The Verge, among others. Core Features: - Strip away all clutter and save the content of web pages into iOS-optimized formatting. - Read anywhere! No internet, no problem: access your articles on airplanes, subways, elevators, or Wi-Fi-only devices away from Internet connections. - Save to Instapaper from other iOS applications with one tap. Additional Features: - Control every aspect of your reading experience with a variety of font, color themes, and spacing options. - Find that great quote you want to remember and share? Instapaper makes it easy to highlight and add notes to text in any article. - Have your Instapaper articles narrated to you with text-to-speech. Just turn up the volume on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and relax! - Sort your list of articles by popularity, date, and article length. - Folders for easy organization. Instapaper also offers an optional Instapaper Premium subscription for $5.99/month or $59.99/year. With Instapaper Premium you receive: - Full-text search for articles in your account - Unlimited highlights and notes. - Text-to-speech Playlist to seamlessly listen to multiple articles. - Unlimited use of the speed reading feature to help you get through articles up to 3x faster. On sign up for Instapaper Premium, payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at the confirmation of purchase. The subscription automatically renews unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions by going to your App Store account settings after purchase. Terms of service: https://www.instapaper.com/terms Privacy policy: https://www.instapaper.com/privacy

About

theSkimm

Stay informed with daily news summaries, in-depth articles on career, health, and finance, and engaging podcasts. Discover personalized recommendations and integrate events into your calendar to live smarter.

Highlights
  • Daily news summaries
  • In-depth articles
  • Podcasts
  • Personalized calendar integration
  • Curated recommendations
  • Career, health, and finance topics
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Meet: theSkimm app. We’ve got you covered on all the news and info you need to start your day. Think: news, podcasts, curated picks, and a personalized calendar to help you live your smartest life. Try the app for free. After that, pay less than a cup of coffee a month. Wake up with us. It all starts with the Daily Skimm – the morning newsletter that connects the dots on how the biggest stories affect your life. Dive deeper. We help you navigate the complicated topics around your career, health, and wallet. Listen in. Meet our podcasts: “Skimm This” explains the week’s biggest stories. “Skimm’d from the Couch” features advice from female leaders. Stay up-to-date. Our calendar integrates with yours so you never miss important moments, like awards shows, elections, and more. Discover more. We Skimm your shopping cart, streaming queue, and bookshelf. We'll help you discover things quicker, so you can spend your downtime smarter. ------- In-app purchase subscription required. All monthly subscriptions begin with a free trial, after which a recurring charge of $2.99 per month. All yearly subscriptions are charged $29.99 at the time of purchase, with a recurring charge billed annually. Details: - Subscription options: monthly subscription of $2.99 per month, or yearly subscription of $29.99 per year - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase - No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period - theSkimm's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use can be visited at http://theskimm.com/privacy - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication

Screenshots

Instapaper4 screens
theSkimm4 screens

Verdict

The call

Instapaper and theSkimm both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 64% of Instapaper's written reviews are positive against 41% of theSkimm's. Instapaper also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). theSkimm's advantage is ratings volume (13K vs 3.5K) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Instapaper sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and theSkimm sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

theSkimm holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.5K and 13K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 64% of Instapaper's written reviews are positive against 41% of theSkimm's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Instapaper ships an update every 2 weeks, theSkimm every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 23, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Instapaper versus theSkimm: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInstapapertheSkimm
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (3.5K ratings)4.8 (13K ratings) — better
Positive reviews64.1% of reviews — better40.7% of reviews
Number of ratings3.5K13K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#141 — better#188
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS26.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB33 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperInstant Paper, Inc.theSkimm

Customer experience

Instapaper

All ratings3,548 ratings
Positive89.8%
Neutral3.4%
Negative6.8%
Written reviews1,369 reviews
Positive64.1%
Neutral9.1%
Negative26.7%

theSkimm

All ratings13,230 ratings
Positive94.5%
Neutral2.0%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews150 reviews
Positive40.7%
Neutral7.3%
Negative52.0%

User reviews

Instapaper

From 3.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Efficient reading experience
  • 👍 Clean, minimalist design
  • 💡 Useful features like highlighting and notes
  • 🚀 Seamless integration with various platforms
  • 👍 Reliable and stable app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes
  • 🔒 Concerns about data privacy and GDPR compliance
  • 💰 Subscription price increase
  • 🔍 Unreliable search functionality
  • 🚫 Inability to delete account

theSkimm

From 13K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 📰 Concise and informative news
  • 🗓️ Helpful calendar integration
  • 🎧 Useful audio content
  • 👍 Easy to stay informed
  • 🤗 Entertaining and engaging

Room to improve

  • 🤑 Paid subscription required
  • 🗣️ Perceived political bias
  • 🔗 Accidental link clicks while scrolling
  • 🚫 Limited content for non-US users

Bugs and requests

Instapaper

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Speak feature freezes on most articles
  • Pagination issues causing text to be cut off
  • Folders and archives disappearing
  • Inability to save articles from certain websites
  • Subscription not unlocking premium features

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for tables and charts
  • Improve text-to-speech quality
  • Implement a 'go back to beginning of article' feature
  • Add support for EPUB files
  • Introduce a 'random article' feature

theSkimm

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App crashes and freezes
  • Issues with 'Do Not Sell My Information' feature

Requested features

4 requests
  • Offline content access
  • More international news coverage
  • Customizable news preferences
  • Ability to remove ads for paid subscribers

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Instapaper

Subscriptions2
  • Instapaper Premium$5.991 Month
  • Instapaper Premium$59.991 Year
2 purchases

theSkimm

Subscriptions2
  • theSkimm Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • theSkimm Yearly$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Instapaper free?
Instapaper is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is theSkimm free?
theSkimm is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Instapaper or theSkimm?
theSkimm is rated higher. Instapaper averages 4.6 out of 5 from 3.5K ratings, while theSkimm averages 4.8 from 13K ratings.
Do Instapaper or theSkimm have ads?
Neither Instapaper nor theSkimm shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Instapaper or theSkimm?
Instapaper ships an update every 2 weeks, and theSkimm every 2 months. Most recently, Instapaper was updated on October 23, 2026 and theSkimm on October 23, 2026.
Which is more popular, Instapaper or theSkimm?
Instapaper currently peaks at #141 in the App Store charts, and theSkimm at #188. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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