Comparison

Instapaper vs Reeder.

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

Reeder.

Consolidate your reading, watching, and listening into a single, unified timeline. Sync your progress across devices and share curated content with others. Organize saved links and create custom views with powerful filters.

Highlights
  • Unified timeline for all content
  • Cross-device syncing via iCloud
  • Shareable feeds from tags
  • Customizable filters for timelines
  • Save and organize links
  • Integrates videos, podcasts, and social media
Features
Read full description

Reeder is your all-in-one inbox for reading, watching and listening to content from various sources. From Unread Counts to Timeline Syncing Say goodbye to unread counts! With Reeder, your timeline position is synced across all your devices, letting you pick up right where you left off. Shared Feeds Turn any tag into a public, auto-updating feed that can be viewed in any browser or added to any RSS reader that supports JSON feeds, making it simple to share your curated content. Unified Timeline Reeder supports more than just RSS feeds. It integrates videos, podcasts and social media posts into a single, streamlined view. While it’s not meant to replace full-featured clients, Reeder offers a centralized way to keep track of everything you follow, with the option to open content in other apps (if supported) when you want to dive deeper. Filters Create custom timelines with filters based on keywords, media types or feed types. Save and Organize Links Easily save links from Safari or any other app to Reeder using its share extension, keeping everything organized and easy to find. iCloud Sync Reeder only syncs what’s important — your subscriptions, timeline position and tagged items (including Links, Favorites, Bookmarks and Later) — across all your devices using iCloud, making syncing faster and more efficient, with changes pushed to your other devices within seconds. Content is fetched directly from the sources, ensuring you always have the latest updates. Terms of Use: https://reeder.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://reeder.app/privacy

Screenshots

Instapaper4 screens
Reeder.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Instapaper at 4.6 against Reeder.'s 4.3. Instapaper also leads on chart position (#135 vs unranked) and review sentiment (64% vs 53%). Reeder.'s advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, 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 Reeder. sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Instapaper holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.5K and 863 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Instapaper's written reviews are positive against 53% of Reeder.'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Instapaper ships an update every 2 weeks, Reeder. every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Instapaper versus Reeder.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInstapaperReeder.
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (3.5K ratings) — better4.3 (863 ratings)
Positive reviews64.1% of reviews — better53.3% of reviews
Number of ratings3.5K — better863
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#135 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size49 MB29 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperInstant Paper, Inc.Silvio Rizzi

Customer experience

Instapaper

All ratings3,537 ratings
Positive89.8%
Neutral3.3%
Negative6.8%
Written reviews1,364 reviews
Positive64.1%
Neutral9.1%
Negative26.8%

Reeder.

All ratings863 ratings
Positive80.1%
Neutral5.1%
Negative14.8%
Written reviews705 reviews
Positive53.3%
Neutral15.6%
Negative31.1%

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

Reeder.

From 863 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fantastic app
  • 👍 Beautiful reading experience
  • 🚀 Seamless sync across devices
  • 💡 Innovative all-in-one concept
  • 👍 Sleek and polished UI

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Lacking read/unread indicators
  • 🐛 Inconsistent video/audio playback
  • 🐛 Cluttered feed with replies
  • 🐛 Difficult to navigate and organize feeds
  • 🐛 Limited customization options

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

Reeder.

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Feeds failing to import or sync correctly
  • Inconsistent timeline ordering and display
  • Podcast and video playback issues
  • Crashes and stability problems

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add read/unread status indicators
  • Improve feed organization with folders
  • Provide more customization options for layout and typography
  • Integrate with third-party RSS services
  • Introduce keyboard shortcuts for common actions
Show 1 more
  • Add option to hide read/viewed content

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Instapaper

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

Reeder.

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$1.001 Month
  • Yearly$10.001 Year

Questions

Is Instapaper free?
Instapaper is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Reeder. free?
Reeder. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Instapaper or Reeder.?
Instapaper is rated higher. Instapaper averages 4.6 out of 5 from 3.5K ratings, while Reeder. averages 4.3 from 863 ratings.
Do Instapaper or Reeder. have ads?
Neither Instapaper nor Reeder. shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Instapaper or Reeder.?
Instapaper ships an update every 2 weeks, and Reeder. every 3 weeks. Most recently, Instapaper was updated on September 25, 2026 and Reeder. on September 24, 2026.

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