Instapaper
Instapaper has been around since 2008, it’s one of the first read-it-later apps. The reading view is nice and lots of people like it.
But searching your own articles, unlimited highlights and text-to-speech need Premium, around 55 € a year. The app also changed hands a few times: Pinterest bought it in 2016, then sold it in 2018.
The other options
- Readwise Reader: very complete (RSS, highlights, notes), but around 96 € a year.
- Matter: nicely designed, made for the iPhone first.
Moving from Instapaper
wallabag.it imports your Instapaper articles. Here’s the step-by-step guide. Imports are part of the subscription, not of the free trial.
What wallabag.it does
- It saves the whole article, not just the link. If the page disappears, you still have it.
- You read on the web, on Android, on iOS, and on Kobo or PocketBook e-readers. Offline too.
- Tags, search, highlights and annotations.
- You can export everything whenever you want: PDF, ePUB, mobi, JSON, CSV…
- It’s hosted in Europe. No ads, no tracking: it’s paid for by subscriptions.
- It’s the open-source wallabag, the project I started in 2013. If you’d rather host it yourself, you can.
Prices
| Service | Per year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| wallabag.it | 11 € | Open source, hosted in Europe |
| Instapaper Premium | ~55 € | Highlights, notes, text-to-speech |
| Readwise Reader | ~96 € | Highlights sync, RSS, AI features, hosted in the US |
wallabag.it costs 11 € a year. There’s also 4 € for 3 months, or 30 € a year if you want to support the project a bit more. You can try it free for 14 days, no credit card needed.
With wallabag.it, search, tags and annotations are included. There’s no higher tier.