Matter vs Readwise
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Matter
Read-later app for iPhone, iPad and web with audio playback
Readwise
Highlight library with a daily review and a read-later app
Where they differ
- Matter starts at $7.99 per month or $59.99 per year on the US App Store; several prices are listed. Readwise starts at $5.59 per month, billed annually (Readwise Lite).
- Matter has a free plan. Readwise does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Readwise lists macOS, Windows and Android apps.
At a glance
| Matter | Readwise | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $7.99 per month or $59.99 per year on the US App Store; several prices are listed | $5.59 per month, billed annually (Readwise Lite) |
| Free plan | Uncapped read-later library, mobile and web extensions for saving, article parsing, unlimited tags, full-text search, and custom themes and fonts. | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial on the web sign-up paywall, after which a yearly subscription starts | 30-day free trial of Readwise and Reader, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Dig Wells, Inc. | Readwise, Inc. |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | readwise.io |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Matter
- iPhone and iPad readers who want articles and newsletters in one queue
- Listening to saved articles, newsletters and podcasts as audio
- Sending highlights to Notion, Obsidian, Roam or Readwise
Readwise
- Kindle and ebook readers who want to see their highlights again
- People who send reading notes to Notion, Obsidian or a similar app
- Readers who want articles, RSS, newsletters and PDFs in one app
Worth knowing
Matter
- No Android app is listed: Matter is offered for iPhone, iPad and the web.
- Newsletter sync, RSS feeds, HD text to speech, Send to Kindle and unlimited highlights need a paid plan.
- The website has no pricing page, and the App Store lists several different Premium and Pro prices.
- The API and CLI are limited to paying Matter Pro subscribers.
Readwise
- There is no free plan: a paid subscription is needed once the 30-day trial ends.
- Readwise Lite leaves out tags and notes, exports to note-taking apps, and the Reader app.
- Reader is not sold on its own; it comes with 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
Matter
- Save articles, PDFs and threads
- Save from the iPhone and iPad apps or from the Chrome, Safari and Firefox extensions. Saved pages are parsed into a clean reading view and are available offline.
- Podcast and YouTube transcripts
- Saved YouTube videos and podcast episodes are transcribed into text that stays in sync with playback, so they can be read or listened to.
- Newsletters, writers and feeds
- Paid subscribers can pull newsletters in through Gmail or a personal Matter email address, follow individual writers and add RSS feeds.
- Text to speech
- Articles and newsletters can be played as audio, with highlighting while listening. HD text to speech for all articles is a paid feature.
- Highlights and exports
- Highlight by long-pressing and dragging, or with Apple Pencil on iPad, and sync highlights to Notion, Obsidian, Roam and Readwise.
- API and CLI
- A REST API and a terminal client give read and write access to the library, tags and annotations. Both require a Matter Pro subscription.
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
Matter
Free$0
Uncapped read-later library, saving from mobile and browser extensions, unlimited tags, full-text search, and custom themes and fonts.
Premium$59.99 to $79.99
per year; monthly items are listed at $7.99, $12.99 and $14.99
HD text to speech, AI Co-Reader, newsletter sync, writer and RSS feeds, unlimited highlights, notes and integrations, and Send to Kindle. Also labelled Matter Pro.
Readwise
Readwise 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.
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
Matter
No public discounts listed.
Readwise
- Annual discount
Save 21% to 24% with yearly billing
The pricing page shows a 21% saving on Readwise Lite ($5.59 instead of $6.99 a month) and 24% on the full plan ($9.99 instead of $12.99) when billed yearly.
- 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.
