# O'Reilly vs Readwise

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: O'Reilly at none against Readwise's 8. O'Reilly also leads on ratings volume (34K vs 1.5K). Readwise's advantage is review sentiment (72% vs 46%) and iOS requirement (15.5 vs 18.5). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Readwise sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. O'Reilly asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for O'Reilly against 4.8 for Readwise. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: O'Reilly has 34K ratings behind it against 1.5K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 46% of O'Reilly's written reviews are positive against 72% of Readwise's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | O'Reilly | Readwise |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (34K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/oreilly/id881697395/reviews) | **[4.8 (1.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/readwise/id1476885528/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **34K** | 1.5K |
| Positive reviews | 46.0% of reviews | **72.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 63 MB | 110 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.5 | **15.5** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [O'Reilly Media, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/312570215) | [Readwise, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1476885527) |

## What reviewers say

### O'Reilly

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/oreilly/id881697395)

Access a vast library of expert-led books, videos, and courses on business and technology trends. Learn online or offline, sync progress across devices, and personalize your reading experience. Discover and organize content with playlists for easy access.

**Highlights:** Offline access to books, videos, and courses, Cross-device progress syncing, Content discovery and playlist creation, Personalized text display and night mode, Search across all learning materials, External keyboard support

**Features:** iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great resource for learning
- 👍 Excellent content and library
- 💡 Helpful features like playlists
- 🚀 Offline reading and downloads

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy app with crashes and issues
- 👎 Poor reading experience and navigation
- 🔒 Frequent login issues
- 👎 Inconsistent sync across devices

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent crashes and freezes
- Unreliable downloads and offline access
- Login issues and loss of progress
- Inconsistent behavior across updates

**Requested features**

- Improved bookmarking and note-taking
- Customizable text formatting and layout
- Better search and content discovery
- Seamless sync across devices


### Readwise

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/readwise/id1476885528)

This app helps you retain more of what you read by centralizing and revisiting your highlights from various reading platforms. It uses spaced repetition and active recall techniques to improve memory and offers features like tagging, note-taking, and OCR for physical books.

**Highlights:** Synchronize highlights from multiple platforms, Daily review habit via app and email, Spaced repetition and active recall, Tag, note, and search highlights, OCR for paper book highlights, Convert highlights to flashcards

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Readwise Lite Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Readwise Lite Monthly | $6.99 | per month |
| Readwise Full Monthly Plan | $8.99 | per month |
| Readwise Full Monthly | $12.99 | per month |
| Readwise Lite Yearly | $52.99 | per year |
| Readwise Lite Yearly | $66.99 | per year |
| Readwise Full Yearly | $94.99 | per year |
| Readwise Full Yearly | $119.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Powerful spaced repetition
- 📚 Seamless integration with reading apps
- 🔍 Helpful AI-powered features
- 🗓️ Useful daily review routine
- 🧠 Boosts knowledge retention

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Expensive subscription
- 🔌 Sync issues with some platforms
- 📱 Subpar mobile app experience
- 🕰️ Lack of flexibility in daily review
- 🔍 Limited search functionality

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent app crashes
- Sync failures with certain accounts
- Unreliable highlight capture

**Requested features**

- Add support for more reading apps
- Improve sync and import capabilities
- Introduce more customization options
- Enhance search and organization tools
- Develop a more intuitive mobile interface


## Frequently asked questions

### Is O'Reilly free?

O'Reilly is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Readwise free?

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

### Which has better reviews, O'Reilly or Readwise?

Readwise is rated higher. O'Reilly averages 4.7 out of 5 from 34K ratings, while Readwise averages 4.8 from 1.5K ratings.

### Do O'Reilly or Readwise have ads?

Neither O'Reilly nor Readwise shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, O'Reilly or Readwise?

O'Reilly ships an update every 2 weeks, and Readwise every 2 weeks. Most recently, O'Reilly was updated on October 14, 2026 and Readwise on October 12, 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.*