# Instapaper vs Finally Read

The clearest difference is rating: Finally Read at 5.0 against Instapaper's 4.6. Instapaper's advantage is ratings volume (3.5K vs 2) and chart position (#124 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, 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 Finally Read sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Finally Read holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Instapaper has 3.5K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Instapaper ships an update every 2 weeks, Finally Read monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Instapaper | Finally Read |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (3.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/instapaper/id288545208/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/finally-read-read-it-later/id6756924782/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **3.5K** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 64.1% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | **#124** | — |
| Size | 50 MB | 24 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 26.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Instant Paper, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/284942716) | [Gregory Hubbard](https://appshunter.io/developer/1565886549) |

## What reviewers say

### Instapaper

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

**Currently charting:** #124 Top Grossing · News, #164 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


### Finally Read

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/finally-read-read-it-later/id6756924782)

This app helps you finally read the links you've saved across various services. It offers multiple reading modes, including a daily newspaper, shuffled articles, and quotes, along with summarization and a clean reader view. Organize, search, and sync your library privately across devices.

**Highlights:** Multiple reading modes (Newspaper, Shuffle, Quotes), AI-powered summaries, Clean reader view, Save links from any app, Offline reading, Private iCloud sync

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Yearly (Best Value) | $19.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Instapaper free?

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

### Is Finally Read free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Instapaper or Finally Read?

Finally Read is rated higher. Instapaper averages 4.6 out of 5 from 3.5K ratings, while Finally Read averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do Instapaper or Finally Read have ads?

Neither Instapaper nor Finally Read shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Instapaper or Finally Read?

Instapaper ships an update every 2 weeks, and Finally Read monthly. Most recently, Instapaper was updated on October 27, 2026 and Finally Read on October 20, 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.*