# Instapaper vs Unread

The clearest difference is chart position: Instapaper at #149 against Unread's unranked. Instapaper also leads on ratings volume (3.5K vs 442). Unread's advantage is review sentiment (72% vs 64%) and iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Instapaper sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Unread sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Instapaper against 4.6 for Unread. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Instapaper has 3.5K ratings behind it against 442, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 64% of Instapaper's written reviews are positive against 72% of Unread's.

Instapaper ships an update every 2 weeks, Unread every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Instapaper | Unread |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (3.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/instapaper/id288545208/reviews) | [4.6 (442 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/unread-an-rss-reader/id1363637349/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **3.5K** | 442 |
| Positive reviews | 64.2% of reviews | **72.4% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | **Every 8 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#149** | — |
| Size | 49 MB | 40 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **18.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Instant Paper, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/284942716) | [Golden Hill Software](https://appshunter.io/developer/404445480) |

## What reviewers say

### Instapaper

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

**Currently charting:** #149 Top Grossing · News, #178 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


### Unread

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/unread-an-rss-reader/id1363637349)

This app is a beautifully designed RSS reader that focuses on a clean reading experience with customizable typography and themes. It offers seamless syncing across devices and integrates with various read-later services, allowing for offline access to cached content.

**Highlights:** Gesture-based navigation, Customizable color themes, Cross-device syncing, Automatic webpage text display, Offline access with caching, Integration with read-later services, Widgets for unread counts

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unread Monthly Subscription | $4.99 | per month |
| Unread Annual Subscription | $29.99 | per year |
| Unread: Free first year | $29.99 | per year |
| Unread: Discounted first year | $29.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Elegant and intuitive UI
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 🔒 Secure login integration
- 📚 Excellent article formatting and readability
- 💡 Automated full-text article retrieval

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Subscription model seen as too expensive
- 🔀 Inconsistent experience between iOS and iPad versions
- 🔍 Difficult to discover certain features
- 🔠 Lack of customization options (e.g., font, theme)

**Reported bugs**

- Occasional article duplication
- Issues with 'Keep Unread' feature
- Text formatting problems in dark mode

**Requested features**

- Add support for more RSS providers (e.g., Miniflux, FreshRSS)
- Implement keyboard shortcuts and power-user features
- Improve information density on iPad layout
- Introduce a one-time purchase option


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Instapaper free?

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

### Is Unread free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Instapaper or Unread?

Instapaper and Unread are both rated 4.6 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3.5K and 442 ratings respectively.

### Do Instapaper or Unread have ads?

Neither Instapaper nor Unread shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Instapaper or Unread?

Instapaper ships an update every 2 weeks, and Unread every 8 days. Most recently, Instapaper was updated on October 15, 2026 and Unread on October 13, 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.*