# Instapaper vs Inoreader

The clearest difference is update cadence: Instapaper at every 2 weeks against Inoreader's monthly. Inoreader's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Instapaper sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Inoreader sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 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 4.7 for Inoreader. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.5K and 4.4K respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 64% and 64% positive.

Instapaper ships an update every 2 weeks, Inoreader monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Instapaper | Inoreader |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (3.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/instapaper/id288545208/reviews) | **[4.7 (4.4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/inoreader-news-and-rss-reader/id892355414/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 3.5K | **4.4K** |
| Positive reviews | 64.1% of reviews | **64.3% 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 | **#122** | #197 |
| Size | 49 MB | 61 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Instant Paper, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/284942716) | [Innologica](https://appshunter.io/developer/892355417) |

## What reviewers say

### Instapaper

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

**Currently charting:** #122 Top Grossing · News, #172 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


### Inoreader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/inoreader-news-and-rss-reader/id892355414)

**Currently charting:** #197 Top Free · News (US App Store)

Take control of your news consumption by building a personalized feed. Follow websites, newsletters, and social media, filter out noise, and discover content. Read, listen, and organize articles with advanced automation and customization options.

**Highlights:** Personalized newsfeed creation, Follow websites, newsletters, and social media, Content discovery and collection, Automation tools for filtering, Read or listen to articles, Offline reading, Customizable layouts and themes

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro plan (monthly) | $8.99 | per month |
| Pro plan (monthly) | $9.99 | per month |
| Pro plan (monthly) | $9.99 | per month |
| Pro plan (annual) | $89.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Powerful filtering and rules
- 🔒 Stable and reliable service
- 👍 Customizable interface
- 👍 Generous free tier
- 🚀 Efficient article management

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🔍 Unintuitive search functionality
- 👎 Accessibility issues
- 👎 Expensive premium pricing
- 🐛 Unreliable push notifications

**Reported bugs**

- Inability to mark articles as unread after 'mark all as read'
- Inconsistent behavior when opening articles from notifications
- Rendering issues with embedded content (e.g., YouTube videos)
- Sync issues between mobile app and web version
- Frequent crashes and freezes on certain devices

**Requested features**

- Dark mode option
- Improved article sharing capabilities
- Customizable font and layout options
- Seamless integration with other apps
- Enhanced search and filtering tools


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Instapaper free?

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

### Is Inoreader free?

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

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

Inoreader is rated higher. Instapaper averages 4.6 out of 5 from 3.5K ratings, while Inoreader averages 4.7 from 4.4K ratings.

### Do Instapaper or Inoreader have ads?

Neither Instapaper nor Inoreader shows ads.

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

Instapaper ships an update every 2 weeks, and Inoreader monthly. Most recently, Instapaper was updated on September 25, 2026 and Inoreader on September 23, 2026.

### Which is more popular, Instapaper or Inoreader?

Instapaper currently peaks at #122 in the App Store charts, and Inoreader at #197. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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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.*