# Instapaper vs NewsPal

The clearest difference is rating: Instapaper at 4.6 against NewsPal's 4.0. Instapaper also leads on ratings volume (3.5K vs 24) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). NewsPal's advantage is review sentiment (75% vs 64%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Instapaper sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and NewsPal sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Instapaper holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Instapaper has 3.5K ratings behind it against 24, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 64% of Instapaper's written reviews are positive against 75% of NewsPal'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, NewsPal every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Instapaper | NewsPal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (3.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/instapaper/id288545208/reviews)** | [4.0 (24 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/newspal-offline-browser/id1501637899/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **3.5K** | 24 |
| Positive reviews | 64.1% of reviews | **75.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | **#130** | — |
| Size | 50 MB | 14 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Instant Paper, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/284942716) | [FORE STUDIO LTD.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1189468696) |

## What reviewers say

### Instapaper

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

**Currently charting:** #130 Top Free · News, #181 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


### NewsPal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/newspal-offline-browser/id1501637899)

Save your favorite websites to read later without an internet connection. Automatically download fresh content while you sleep, with AI-powered updates. Enjoy an ad-free experience and keep your data private.

**Highlights:** Offline website reading, Scheduled content downloads, AI-powered auto-updates, Ad and tracker removal, Privacy-focused, no login required, Expandable download limits via subscription

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

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Bronze - Up to 500 MB | $0.99 | per month |
| Gold - Up To 2 GB | $1.99 | per month |
| Platinum - Up to 10 GB | $3.99 | per month |
| Bronze - Up to 500 MB | $7.99 | per year |
| Gold - Up to 2 GB | $15.99 | per year |
| Platinum - Up to 10 GB | $29.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Instapaper free?

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

### Is NewsPal free?

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

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

Instapaper is rated higher. Instapaper averages 4.6 out of 5 from 3.5K ratings, while NewsPal averages 4.0 from 24 ratings.

### Do Instapaper or NewsPal have ads?

Neither Instapaper nor NewsPal shows ads.

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

Instapaper ships an update every 2 weeks, and NewsPal every 2 months. Most recently, Instapaper was updated on October 22, 2026 and NewsPal on October 15, 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.*