# Skillshare vs Readwise

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Skillshare at 25K against Readwise's 1.5K. Readwise's advantage is review sentiment (72% vs 62%). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Skillshare sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $18.99 per month and Readwise sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Skillshare against 4.8 for Readwise. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Skillshare has 25K ratings behind it against 1.5K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 62% of Skillshare's written reviews are positive against 72% of Readwise's.

Skillshare ships an update every 10 days, Readwise every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Skillshare | Readwise |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (25K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/skillshare-creativity-classes/id916819843/reviews) | [4.8 (1.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/readwise/id1476885528/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **25K** | 1.5K |
| Positive reviews | 61.8% of reviews | **72.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 10 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 64 MB | 110 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.5 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Skillshare, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/916819842) | [Readwise, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1476885527) |

## What reviewers say

### Skillshare

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/skillshare-creativity-classes/id916819843)

Access thousands of online courses taught by industry professionals to develop your creative skills. Learn drawing, animation, design, photography, and more at your own pace. Offers free classes and a premium subscription for unlimited access.

**Highlights:** Thousands of online creative courses, Professionally led lessons, Offline viewing, Progress syncing across devices, Mini viewer for multitasking, Free classes available

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Membership | $18.99 | per month |
| Skillshare Monthly Membership | $19.99 | per month |
| Monthly Premium Membership | $31.99 | per month |
| Monthly Premium Membership | $31.99 | per month |
| Skillshare Monthly Membership | $49.99 | per month |
| Skillshare Annual Membership | $167.99 | per year |
| Annual Premium Membership | $169.99 | per year |
| Annual Premium Membership | $169.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎨 Excellent variety of creative classes
- 🤓 High-quality instruction from industry professionals
- 🕰 Flexible learning at your own pace
- 💡 Inspiring and motivating content
- 📚 Broad range of topics covered

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔍 Lacking search and organization features in the app
- 🖥 Limited functionality compared to the website
- 🔌 Offline viewing issues and inconsistencies
- 🤖 Buggy and unstable app performance
- 🔒 Questionable billing and cancellation practices

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes and freezes frequently
- Video playback issues and syncing problems
- Inconsistent user interface and navigation
- Inability to access class resources and materials
- Account management and cancellation difficulties

**Requested features**

- Ability to sort and organize saved classes
- Offline class downloads and viewing
- Seamless integration between app and website
- More advanced search and filtering options
- Picture-in-picture mode for multitasking


### 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 Skillshare free?

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

### Is Readwise free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Skillshare or Readwise?

Skillshare and Readwise are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 25K and 1.5K ratings respectively.

### Do Skillshare or Readwise have ads?

Neither Skillshare nor Readwise shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Skillshare or Readwise?

Skillshare ships an update every 10 days, and Readwise every 2 weeks. Most recently, Skillshare was updated on September 24, 2026 and Readwise on September 24, 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.*