Hypothesis vs Readwise (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Hypothesis and Readwise share a 3.0 GPA, and only Hypothesis has a free plan.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Hypothesis grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Readwise grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Hypothesis
Social annotation for web pages and PDFs, built for courses
Readwise
Highlight library with a daily review and a read-later app
Which one is for you
Pick Hypothesis if
- Fits if you read and mark up web pages alone or in a small private group
- Works for teachers who want students annotating readings inside the LMS
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want paid prices on the page, as none are published for Bronze, Silver or Gold
- Tight if your school has more than 3,000 students, because the paid tiers cap seats at 1,000, 2,000 and 3,000 and larger needs a sales call
- Pricey if you need LMS integration or analytics, which are not on the free plan
- Not for you if you want a phone app, as only a browser extension and a bookmarklet are listed
Pick Readwise if
- Fits if you highlight in Kindle or other ebooks and want those passages sent back to you
- Works for readers who'll pay $7.99 a month to get highlights into Notion, Obsidian or Logseq
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan: after the 30-day trial it's a paid subscription or nothing
- Too light for note-takers on Highlights Lite at $5.59, which has no tags, notes, exports to note apps or Reader
- Pricey if you only want Reader: alone it is $7.99 a month billed yearly or $8.99 monthly, more than most reading apps here
- Not for you if you're on Linux, as the desktop apps are listed for Mac and Windows only
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAHypothesisVery good | 3.0GPAReadwiseVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BThe free plan covers core annotation and private groups. Bronze, Silver and Gold are priced per student per year and no figure is shown, so a school can't compare the cost without asking. | DExports to note apps, tags and notes are on Highlights only at $7.99 a month billed yearly, Reader alone is $7.99 too, and both are $9.99. Reading apps here sit at $3.33 a month in the middle and $7.99 at the dearest tenth. Highlights Lite at $5.59 is cheaper and leaves those out. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree plan with annotation and private groups, and the listing shows no cap an individual would reach. | CThere's no free plan. You get 30 days free with no credit card required, covering both Readwise and Reader, and then it's a paid subscription or nothing. Students, academics and nonprofits can ask for 50% off by email. |
| Features | CPage annotation, groups, tagging and a Chrome extension. But LMS integration, partner workshops, analytics and auto-grading are not on the free plan. | AIt covers the whole job and does what rivals don't: highlights from Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, Instapaper and photos of paper books, a Daily Review timed with spaced repetition, exports to Notion and Obsidian, and Reader for articles, RSS, newsletters, PDFs, EPUBs and YouTube transcripts. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record. Add the extension or bookmarklet, sign up and start highlighting, with nothing else to set up. | A4.8 from 1,513 App Store ratings, which clears our bar for an A on both the score and the number of people behind it. Once your reading sources are connected, new highlights sync in and the Daily Review turns up by email without you doing anything. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, a Chrome extension and a bookmarklet, with LMS links to Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, D2L Brightspace and Sakai. No phone or desktop apps are listed. | AThe full set: web, Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android and a browser extension, plus an API, a command-line tool and an MCP server for AI assistants. It syncs with Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo and Instapaper and exports to Notion, Obsidian, Evernote and Logseq. No Linux app is mentioned. |
| Best for | annotating web pages and readings in a class | keeping and revisiting everything you highlight |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Hypothesis and Readwise. How we grade
Where they differ
- Hypothesis also covers research.
- Readwise also covers read later and rSS reader.
At a glance
| Hypothesis | Readwise | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | Not published | $5.59 per month, billed annually (Highlights Lite) |
| Free plan | Free: core annotation and private groups, with self-service support. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial of Readwise and Reader, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Hypothesis | Readwise, Inc. |
| Price read from | web.hypothes.is | readwise.io |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Hypothesis
- No prices are published for Bronze, Silver or Gold; the pricing page says per student per year and points to sales.
- The paid tiers cap user seats at 1,000, 2,000 and 3,000, with a sales contact for anything larger.
- LMS integration, partner workshops and analytics are not on the Free plan.
Readwise
- There is no free plan: a paid subscription is needed once the 30-day trial ends.
- Highlights Lite leaves out tags and notes, exports to note-taking apps, and the Reader app.
- Reader alone costs $7.99 per month billed annually; with Highlights it comes in the Full Readwise plan at $9.99 per month billed annually.
- Desktop apps are listed for Mac and Windows only, with no Linux app mentioned.
Key features
Hypothesis
- Annotate any page
- Highlight and comment on online articles, websites, videos and PDFs, and turn annotations into threaded discussions.
- LMS integration
- Connects to Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, D2L Brightspace and Sakai through LTI so readings can be set inside a course.
- Private groups
- Annotation can be shared inside private groups, which the pricing page lists on the free plan.
- Tagging other users
- Mention classmates or colleagues in an annotation to notify them and draw them back into the reading.
- Analytics and auto-grading
- Silver and Gold add an LMS reporting dashboard and automatic grading of student annotations.
- Chrome extension and bookmarklet
- The web annotator works through a Chrome extension or bookmarklet in any modern browser released within the last 12 months.
Readwise
- Daily Review
- A daily selection of past highlights, delivered by email and in the app and timed with spaced repetition so older passages come back around.
- Highlight import
- Syncs highlights from Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, Instapaper and other listed sources, and captures passages from paper books by photographing the page.
- Export to note-taking apps
- Sends highlights to Notion, Obsidian, Evernote, Roam, Logseq and other listed apps, or to Markdown and CSV. Exports are part of the full plan.
- Reader
- A read-later app for web articles, RSS feeds, email newsletters, PDFs, EPUBs, YouTube transcripts and X threads, with highlighting, full-text search and text to speech.
- Ghostreader and chat with highlights
- Ghostreader answers questions about a document, defines terms and simplifies passages. Chat answers show the highlights they were drawn from.
- MCP server, CLI and API
- An MCP server connects Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or another MCP-compatible assistant to the library, alongside a command-line tool and an API.
Plans
Hypothesis
Free$0
Core annotation and private groups, with self-service support.
BronzeCustom
Priced per student per year with no figure shown. LMS integration, up to 1,000 seats, partner workshops, email support.
SilverCustom
Priced per student per year with no figure shown. Up to 2,000 seats, advanced analytics, auto-grading, Hypothesis Academy.
GoldCustom
Priced per student per year with no figure shown. Up to 3,000 seats, unlimited training, dedicated CSM, premium support.
Readwise
Highlights Lite$5.59
per month, billed annually ($67.08), or $6.99 billed monthly
Daily Review by email and app, a searchable highlight library, and syncing of new highlights from all sources.
Highlights only$7.99
per month, billed annually ($95.88), or $8.99 billed monthly
Everything for highlights, including tags and notes, exports, Ghostreader chat over the library, OCR and flashcards, without the Reader app.
Reader only$7.99
per month, billed annually ($95.88), or $8.99 billed monthly
The Reader app for articles, PDFs, EPUBs, newsletters, RSS and videos, with highlighting, text-to-speech and Ghostreader, without Highlights.
Full Readwise$9.99
per month, billed annually ($119.88), or $12.99 billed monthly
The full plan: everything in Lite, plus tags and notes, exports to Notion, Obsidian and other note apps, and the Reader app.
Ways to pay less
Hypothesis
No public discounts listed.
Readwise
- Annual discount
Save up to 23% with yearly billing
Billed yearly, Highlights Lite is $5.59 a month instead of $6.99, Highlights only and Reader only $7.99 instead of $8.99, and Full Readwise $9.99 instead of $12.99; the page says up to 23% off.
- Education
50% off for students and academics
Students and other members of academia get 50% off by emailing Readwise before subscribing, then subscribing through the Readwise website.
- Nonprofit
50% off for nonprofits
The Reader page lists the same 50% discount for nonprofits, educators, military and first responders, requested by email.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Hypothesis or Readwise?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Hypothesis publishes no starting price, and Readwise starts at $5.59 per month, billed annually (Highlights Lite).
Which has a free plan, Hypothesis or Readwise?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Hypothesis has a free plan. Readwise does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Hypothesis and Readwise run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Readwise lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app and a browser extension. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.