# Instapaper vs theSkimm

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.

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.

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.

Instapaper ships an update every 2 weeks, theSkimm every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Instapaper | theSkimm |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (3.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/instapaper/id288545208/reviews) | **[4.8 (13K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/theskimm/id1034995058/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 3.5K | **13K** |
| Positive reviews | **64.1% of reviews** | 40.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#141** | #188 |
| Size | 50 MB | 33 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **14.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Instant Paper, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/284942716) | [theSkimm](https://appshunter.io/developer/1034995057) |

## What reviewers say

### Instapaper

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/instapaper/id288545208)

**Currently charting:** #141 Top Grossing · News, #166 Top Free · News (US App Store)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Instapaper Premium | $5.99 | per month |
| Instapaper Premium | $59.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/theskimm/id1034995058)

**Currently charting:** #188 Top Grossing · News (US App Store)

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:** Siri integration, iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| theSkimm Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| theSkimm Yearly | $29.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes and freezes
- Issues with 'Do Not Sell My Information' feature

**Requested features**

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


## Frequently asked 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 24, 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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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*