Kindle Clippings vs Second Reading
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Kindle Clippings
Easily access and view your Kindle highlights. Upload your 'My Clippings.txt' file or export directly from the Kindle app. Display a random highlight on your homescreen with a convenient widget.
- View Kindle highlights
- Upload My Clippings.txt
- Export from Kindle app
- Homescreen widget
- Random highlight display
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Kindle Clippings lets you view highlights from books that you’ve read on your Kindle. Upload the My Clippings.txt file from your Kindle or export highlights directly from the Kindle app. View highlights in the app or add a widget to your homescreen that shows a random highlight every hour or every day.
Second Reading
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You read something great on your Kindle and highlighted it. Now what? Second Reading imports the highlights you saved on your Kindle and gives them somewhere to live: a customizable Home Screen widget, a searchable library, and a cozy daily page worth returning to. Every highlight arrives on a color of its own, so no two quite feel the same. No account is needed. No analytics collected. Your library stays on your device and on your other devices too, through your own iCloud, if you turn it on. HOME SCREEN WIDGET Small, medium, or large. Rotates hourly or daily, in your choice of four typefaces, and shifts color as it goes. Pin a single shade if you would rather it sat still beside your wallpaper, or pick a neutral and have no color there at all. Tap a highlight to open it in the app. Show only your favorites if you would rather see only a few quotes. TODAY One highlight, full page, nothing competing for attention — on a field of color that changes along with it. Pull another whenever you like, mark a favorite, or share it. YOUR LIBRARY Every book you have highlighted, sorted by title, author, or most recently read. Turn a book off to keep it out of the rotation without deleting anything — or turn off a single highlight and leave the rest of the book showing. SEARCH Full-text search across everything you have imported, including books you have switched off. RE-IMPORTING IS SAFE Import your clippings file as often as you like. Second Reading works out what is genuinely new, leaves the edits you have made alone, and asks which version to keep only in the rare case where it cannot tell. QUOTES OF YOUR OWN Type in a line from a paper book and keep it alongside the rest. BUILT FOR IPHONE AND IPAD One app, both devices, with a layout that uses the space it is given. CROSS-DEVICE SYNC Off until you switch it on. Turn it on and your highlights, notes and favorites stay in step across your iPhone and iPad, through your own iCloud account with no server of ours in the middle. PRIVACY Second Reading is privacy focused. There is no server, no account, no tracking, and no third-party SDK collecting anything. Nothing you import ever leaves your device unless you choose to sync with your iCloud account. Free. No subscription, no in-app purchases, no advertising. Second Reading is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Amazon. "Kindle" is used only to describe the highlights file the app reads.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Second Reading at every 2 weeks against Kindle Clippings's every 5 weeks. Kindle Clippings's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Kindle Clippings ships an update every 5 weeks, Second Reading every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Kindle Clippings | Second Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (9 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 9 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 38 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Damilola Animashaun | Nicholas Kinloch |
In-app purchases
Kindle Clippings
No in-app purchases
Second Reading
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Kindle Clippings free?
Is Second Reading free?
Do Kindle Clippings or Second Reading have ads?
Which is updated more often, Kindle Clippings or Second Reading?
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