# Papers by ReadCube vs Paperpile

The clearest difference is rating: Paperpile at 4.5 against Papers by ReadCube's 3.7. Paperpile also leads on review sentiment (72% vs 41%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). Papers by ReadCube's advantage is ratings volume (551 vs 129). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Paperpile holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 551 and 129 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 41% of Papers by ReadCube's written reviews are positive against 72% of Paperpile's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Papers by ReadCube | Paperpile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.7 (551 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/papers-by-readcube/id864042981/reviews) | **[4.5 (129 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paperpile/id1187562736/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **551** | 129 |
| Positive reviews | 41.2% of reviews | **71.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 77 MB | 242 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Digital Science & Research Solutions Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/864042984) | [Paperpile LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1187562735) |

## What reviewers say

### Papers by ReadCube

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/papers-by-readcube/id864042981)

Manage, read, and discover research literature on your mobile devices. Annotate PDFs, organize your library with custom lists and tags, and receive personalized recommendations for new papers. Syncs seamlessly with desktop and web applications.

**Highlights:** Read and manage research papers, Annotate PDFs with notes and highlights, Organize library with custom lists and tags, Discover new research with personalized recommendations, Search and download articles, Sync across devices

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Seamless syncing across devices
- 📚 Excellent for organizing and managing research papers
- 🔍 Helpful search and discovery features
- 💻 Good integration with desktop and web versions
- 📝 Useful annotation and highlighting tools

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy annotation and handwriting tools
- 🔍 Inconsistent search and metadata retrieval
- 💾 Unreliable cloud sync and data loss issues
- 🖍️ Limited annotation features compared to competitors
- 🕰️ Slow development and lack of updates

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent app crashes and freezes
- Sync issues causing data loss and duplication
- Unreliable PDF downloads and access
- Inconsistent behavior of annotation tools
- Compatibility problems with newer devices and OS versions

**Requested features**

- Add eraser tool for handwritten annotations
- Improve PDF viewing and navigation experience
- Implement better organization and folder management
- Integrate citation and bibliography tools
- Provide more customization options


### Paperpile

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paperpile/id1187562736)

Organize and manage your research papers effortlessly. Collect, read, and annotate PDFs from millions of academic journals. Beat paper chaos with a tidy digital library.

**Highlights:** Search millions of academic papers, Collect PDFs with one tap, Organize with folders and labels, Read and annotate PDFs, Highlight and add notes, Browser integration for saving

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Excellent reference library management
- 🔄 Seamless cross-device synchronization
- ✍️ Intuitive PDF annotation and highlighting
- 🎨 Clean and minimalist user interface
- 📱 Strong iPad and mobile integration

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and instability
- ⏱️ Lack of updates for extended periods
- 📱 Mobile app significantly behind web version features
- 🔋 High battery drain on iPad
- 🌙 No dark mode support

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes frequently on iPad and iOS devices
- Highlighting disappears when revisiting papers
- Overlapping annotations delete together when removing one
- Sync failures requiring logout/login cycles
- Annotations not syncing between iPad and web versions

**Requested features**

- Dark mode implementation
- Edit citation metadata on mobile app
- Change PDF file functionality
- Save to downloads feature
- Dictionary/lookup function for reading


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Papers by ReadCube free?

Papers by ReadCube is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Paperpile free?

Paperpile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Papers by ReadCube or Paperpile?

Paperpile is rated higher. Papers by ReadCube averages 3.7 out of 5 from 551 ratings, while Paperpile averages 4.5 from 129 ratings.

### Do Papers by ReadCube or Paperpile have ads?

Neither Papers by ReadCube nor Paperpile shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Papers by ReadCube or Paperpile?

Papers by ReadCube ships an update every 2 months, and Paperpile every 2 months. Most recently, Papers by ReadCube was updated on September 25, 2026 and Paperpile on September 21, 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.*