# Papers by ReadCube vs Scholarly

The clearest difference is rating: Scholarly at 4.5 against Papers by ReadCube's 3.7. Papers by ReadCube's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Scholarly sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Papers by ReadCube asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scholarly holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Papers by ReadCube has 555 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Papers by ReadCube ships an update every 2 months, Scholarly every 37 months. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Papers by ReadCube | Scholarly |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.7 (555 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/papers-by-readcube/id864042981/reviews) | **[4.5 (8 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scholarly-smart-reading-ai/id1482819813/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **555** | 8 |
| Positive reviews | 41.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 months** | Every 37 months |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 79 MB | 15 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 17.3 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Digital Science & Research Solutions Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/864042984) | [Ryan Schefske](https://appshunter.io/developer/1359871123) |

## 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, Vision Pro support

**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


### Scholarly

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scholarly-smart-reading-ai/id1482819813)

Enhance your reading with AI-powered tools. Choose from speed reading, text-to-speech, or auto-scroll modes. Digitize documents with OCR and track your reading progress to build better habits.

**Highlights:** Speed reading (RSVP), Text-to-speech with highlighting, Auto-scroll reading, Camera document scanning (OCR), Speech-to-text dictation, AI-powered summaries, Reading statistics and history

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Scholarly Pro Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Scholarly Pro Yearly | $39.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Papers by ReadCube free?

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

### Is Scholarly free?

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

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

Scholarly is rated higher. Papers by ReadCube averages 3.7 out of 5 from 555 ratings, while Scholarly averages 4.5 from 8 ratings.

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

Scholarly shows ads; Papers by ReadCube does not.

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

Papers by ReadCube ships an update every 2 months, and Scholarly every 37 months. Most recently, Papers by ReadCube was updated on October 19, 2026 and Scholarly on October 5, 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.*