# Instapaper vs Alerts for Reddit

The clearest difference is update cadence: Instapaper at every 2 weeks against Alerts for Reddit's every 5 months. Instapaper also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.2) and ratings volume (3.5K vs 178). Alerts for Reddit's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 26.0). On price, review sentiment, 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 Alerts for Reddit sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Instapaper holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Instapaper has 3.5K ratings behind it against 178, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 64% of Instapaper's written reviews are positive against 68% of Alerts for Reddit'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, Alerts for Reddit every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Instapaper | Alerts for Reddit |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (3.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/instapaper/id288545208/reviews)** | [4.2 (178 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alerts-for-reddit/id1208773745/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **3.5K** | 178 |
| Positive reviews | 64.1% of reviews | **67.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 5 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | **#111** | — |
| Size | 49 MB | 41 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Instant Paper, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/284942716) | [Amanda O'Neal](https://appshunter.io/developer/1208773744) |

## What reviewers say

### Instapaper

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

**Currently charting:** #111 Top Grossing · 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


### Alerts for Reddit

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alerts-for-reddit/id1208773745)

Receive instant notifications for new Reddit posts and comments from specific subreddits or users. Customize alerts with keywords and notification frequencies to stay updated on the content you care about most. Easily manage your subscriptions and access notifications directly within your preferred Reddit app or browser.

**Highlights:** Custom subreddit and user notifications, Keyword filtering for alerts, Adjustable notification frequency, No Reddit account login required, Direct launch to Reddit app or browser, View recent notifications history

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Subscription | $3.99 | per year |
| Premium Speed: Monthly | $3.99 | per month |
| Premium Speed: Yearly | $44.99 | per year |
| Lifetime Premium | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fast real-time alerts for Reddit posts
- 👍 Simple and intuitive user interface
- 💰 Generous free tier with no ads
- 🎯 Highly customizable keyword and subreddit filtering
- 📱 Works with multiple Reddit client apps

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Notifications fail to send or arrive late
- 💾 Settings not saved to iCloud backup
- 🔄 App crashes and freezes on startup
- ⚠️ Inconsistent notification filtering behavior
- 🔌 Duplicate notifications for single posts

**Reported bugs**

- App won't open or stuck on loading screen
- Settings don't persist after closing app
- iCloud backup excludes app data
- Notifications not appearing in Notification Center
- Duplicate notifications for same post

**Requested features**

- iCloud sync for subscriptions and settings
- Comment notifications and threaded conversation alerts
- Advanced filtering with AND/OR/NOT operations
- Search within post content, not just titles
- Quiet hours or do-not-disturb scheduling


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Instapaper free?

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

### Is Alerts for Reddit free?

Alerts for Reddit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Instapaper or Alerts for Reddit?

Instapaper is rated higher. Instapaper averages 4.6 out of 5 from 3.5K ratings, while Alerts for Reddit averages 4.2 from 178 ratings.

### Do Instapaper or Alerts for Reddit have ads?

Neither Instapaper nor Alerts for Reddit shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Instapaper or Alerts for Reddit?

Instapaper ships an update every 2 weeks, and Alerts for Reddit every 5 months. Most recently, Instapaper was updated on September 26, 2026 and Alerts for Reddit on September 27, 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.*