Comparison

Leanpub vs Readwise Books

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

Head to head
About

Leanpub

Access your entire ebook library on your mobile device. Discover new titles, take notes, and switch between reading modes. Authors can also write and publish their own books directly through the platform.

Highlights
  • Read Leanpub ebooks
  • Discover new ebooks
  • Sync notes across devices
  • Dark and Light Mode reading
  • Write and publish books
  • Read ebook samples
Features
Read full description

Leanpub is the world's best platform for reading and writing ebooks. Download the app to read and listen to all the ebooks in your Leanpub library on your iPhone and iPad. Discover new authors and ebooks in the Leanpub store. Take Leanpub courses right in the app, with lessons, videos, and quizzes. Write and publish your own books using powerful features for authors — now including real-time collaborative writing. With the Leanpub app you can: Read all your Leanpub ebooks, including PDF books, with full offline support Listen to your books with Read Aloud: background playback with follow-along highlighting Take courses with video lessons and quizzes with instant feedback Discover new Leanpub ebooks, courses, and bundles Take notes and highlights within books and sync them across devices Share favorite passages as beautiful quote cards Keep reading from your Home Screen with widgets like Continue Reading, The Shelf, and Passage of the Day Join the conversation in your books' community forums Write on the go: draft chapters, edit visually, and preview and publish new versions Write together with your co-authors in real time Manage co-authors, browse your royalties, and organize collections in the Author studio Choose between Dark Mode and Light Mode for comfortable reading Read samples of ebooks, where available Use credits to add new books to your library Write and publish reviews of books right from your library By using this app, you agree to the Leanpub Terms of Service (https://leanpub.com/terms), Privacy Policy (https://leanpub.com/privacy), Copyright Policy (https://leanpub.com/takedown) and Refund Policy (https://leanpub.com/refunds).

About

Readwise Books

This reading app allows you to buy, read, and track all your books in one place. It automatically logs your reading sessions and provides detailed metrics to help you improve. Share your reading progress with friends in a low-pressure feed.

Highlights
  • Centralized book library
  • Automatic reading session logging
  • Detailed reading metrics
  • Print book tracking
  • Highlighting and note-taking
  • Optional social feed
  • EPUB audio playback
Currently charting
Read full description

Readwise Books is invite-only for now. You'll need an invite code from a friend to create an account. (If you're an existing Readwise subscriber, you already have early access.) A reading app unlike any other. Buy, read, and track all your books in one beautiful place. ONE PLACE FOR EVERY BOOK Read the ebooks you buy or upload. Track the rest, whether print, audio, or ebooks from elsewhere. Import your shelves from Goodreads and your Kindle library to start. THE STRAVA OF READING Every page flip is logged automatically, the way a pedometer counts steps. Pages roll up into reading sessions. Sessions roll up into weeks, months, and years. METRICS THAT MATTER Visualize rich reading data like words read, time read, pace, depth, immersion, and more. That which is measured is improved. EVERY BOOK COUNTS Reading on paper? Capture your starting and ending page, then save your session. Highlight print books with your camera. READING, ELEVATED Beautiful typography, light and dark modes, pagination or scroll, and best-in-class highlighting, notes, and tags. READING ALONE IS BETTER, TOGETHER Your sessions post to a light feed where friends can see that you're reading. No likes to chase, nothing to perform. More coffee shop than social network. And only if you want to. LISTEN, TOO Upload any DRM-free EPUB and listen with lifelike voices while the text follows along. READWISE ECOSYSTEM One account across Readwise Books, Reader, and Highlights. Every highlight syncs instantly.

Screenshots

Leanpub4 screens
Readwise Books4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Readwise Books at 98% against Leanpub's 12%. Readwise Books also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 6 weeks) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Readwise Books holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 29 and 144 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 12% of Leanpub's written reviews are positive against 98% of Readwise Books's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Leanpub ships an update every 6 weeks, Readwise Books every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Leanpub versus Readwise Books: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLeanpubReadwise Books
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (29 ratings)5.0 (144 ratings) — better
Positive reviews12.0% of reviews97.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings29144 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank—#181 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.515.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size34 MB133 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperLeanpubReadwise, Inc

Customer experience

Leanpub

All ratings24 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive12.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative88.0%

Readwise Books

All ratings144 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews45 reviews
Positive97.8%
Neutral2.2%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Leanpub

No in-app purchases

None

Readwise Books

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Leanpub free?
Leanpub is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Readwise Books free?
Readwise Books is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Leanpub or Readwise Books?
Readwise Books is rated higher. Leanpub averages 4.8 out of 5 from 29 ratings, while Readwise Books averages 5.0 from 144 ratings.
Do Leanpub or Readwise Books have ads?
Neither Leanpub nor Readwise Books shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Leanpub or Readwise Books?
Leanpub ships an update every 6 weeks, and Readwise Books every 3 days. Most recently, Leanpub was updated on November 6, 2026 and Readwise Books on November 5, 2026.

Other comparisons