Comparison

Papers by ReadCube vs Workona

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Papers by ReadCube

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
Read full description

Papers by ReadCube is the simplest way to read, manage and discover research literature. Papers on your iPhone and iPad are the perfect companions to the Papers desktop software, enabling you to access your papers anywhere – read on the go, organize your library, and annotate PDFs with notes and highlights. Enhanced PDF: • Tap-able inline citations, reference lists, and author names so you can quickly find cited articles and related information • Supplements are automatically attached where available • Fullscreen or double-page PDF viewing plus multi-touch zoom/navigation for an optimal reading experience • Multi-color highlighting and note taking tools Easily find new papers: • Search the Papers databases within the app • Quickly download new articles with a single tap when you’re on campus or with your institutional proxy • Import directly from Safari, email attachments, and other apps • In your preferred browser, use any search engine to find article PDFs • Use the “Open In…” option from the browser or any app to add PDFs to your Papers library • Metadata is automatically resolved - no more guessing with cryptic file names Personalized Recommendations: • Discover relevant new papers based on your library or lists – you’ll never miss another important paper again! Stay organized: • Create custom lists and sort articles into one or multiple lists • Quickly search your entire library (and all annotations) • Add any number of #tags to further customize your library organization • Sync everything – papers, notes, highlights – between the Papers desktop and web apps or your other mobile devices Simplify your research life – try Papers for free on your iPhone, iPad, and computer. We love feedback from our users - please email support@papersapp.com with any suggestions or issues. Thanks for using Papers!

About

Workona

Organize all your project-related documents, links, and open tabs within dedicated workspaces. Access your work on the go, sync tabs from your desktop, and manage resources seamlessly from your mobile device.

Highlights
  • Organize projects in workspaces
  • Access cloud docs and links
  • Sync open desktop tabs
  • Manage resources on mobile
  • Full-featured work browser
  • Search saved resources
Read full description

Workona lets you organize everything for a project within workspaces. Use the Workona iPad & iPhone apps to: • Access your workspaces on the go, putting cloud docs & links at your fingertips • Access tabs you have open on your computer from your iPad or iPhone • Keep projects up-to-date when you’re away from the desktop • Add a tab or resource to a workspace from the iOS share button The iPad app offers a full-featured browser built for work: • Seamlessly transition between your workspaces & tabs • Search your saved resources from the browser address bar • Manage tabs without interrupting your flow Workona helps solve the problems of modern work: • You can’t find the work you need - Workspaces put everything for a project in one place, so your important docs & links are easy to find • You need a laptop to get real work done - The Workona iPad & iPhone apps are designed for serious work, allowing you to travel light • Your browser is messy and disorganized - Workspaces display your open tabs at a glance, so you can rapidly close and organize tabs • You need your work on the go - The Workona app syncs your open tabs, acting like a portal into your desktop browser “Workona has enhanced my productivity more than any other tool I use” – Ed Bott, ZDNet

Screenshots

Papers by ReadCube4 screens
Workona3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Papers by ReadCube at none against Workona's shown. Papers by ReadCube also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and ratings volume (551 vs 54). Workona's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On price, rating, review sentiment and in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.7 for Papers by ReadCube against 3.7 for Workona. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Papers by ReadCube has 551 ratings behind it against 54, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 41% of Papers by ReadCube's written reviews are positive against 37% of Workona's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Papers by ReadCube ships an update every 2 months, Workona fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and June 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Papers by ReadCube versus Workona: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPapers by ReadCubeWorkona
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (551 ratings) — better3.7 (54 ratings)
Positive reviews41.2% of reviews — better37.0% of reviews
Number of ratings551 — better54
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.614.5 — better
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB30 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperDigital Science & Research Solutions Inc.Workona Inc.

Customer experience

Papers by ReadCube

All ratings548 ratings
Positive66.6%
Neutral10.0%
Negative23.4%
Written reviews182 reviews
Positive41.2%
Neutral18.1%
Negative40.7%

Workona

All ratings54 ratings
Positive61.1%
Neutral11.1%
Negative27.8%
Written reviews46 reviews
Positive37.0%
Neutral15.2%
Negative47.8%

Bugs and requests

Papers by ReadCube

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • 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

5 requests
  • 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

Workona

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Papers by ReadCube

No in-app purchases

None

Workona

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Papers by ReadCube free?
Papers by ReadCube is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Workona free?
Workona is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Papers by ReadCube or Workona?
Papers by ReadCube is rated higher. Papers by ReadCube averages 3.7 out of 5 from 551 ratings, while Workona averages 3.7 from 54 ratings.
Do Papers by ReadCube or Workona have ads?
Workona shows ads; Papers by ReadCube does not.
Which is updated more often, Papers by ReadCube or Workona?
Papers by ReadCube ships an update every 2 months, and Workona fortnightly. Most recently, Papers by ReadCube was updated on September 25, 2026 and Workona on June 10, 2026.

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