Readwise vs Sublime

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

Sublime

• Writers and designers collecting references across many media types
• People who want to browse what others have saved on a theme
• Bringing Kindle, Readwise, X and Instagram saves into one library

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.

Sublime

• The basic plan is described only as limited: the pricing page gives no numbers for cards, collections, canvases or search.
• Paid plans are billed yearly ($75 or $100) or once ($400); the pricing page shows no monthly option.
• Advanced privacy and the Kindle, X, Instagram, Readwise and Raycast integrations are listed under the paid plans.
• Capture is through the web, a browser extension and an iOS app; no Android app is listed.

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.

Sublime

Cards for any kind of content

Websites, articles, highlights, images, videos, PDFs, podcasts, books, social posts and plain text are each saved as a card in one library.

Browser extension and highlighter

The extension saves images, articles and videos, highlights text on web pages and PDFs, and captures screenshots. It is offered for Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Arc, Brave and Opera.

Collections, private or public

Cards are organized into collections that can stay private or be shared. Other people's libraries can be followed, with no likes or comments.

Related ideas

Saving or entering an idea brings up related cards that other people have collected, so one saved item leads to others on the same theme.

Semantic search

Search works on context and loosely remembered details instead of exact keywords, and content is categorized automatically.

Canvas and exports

Canvas is an infinite whiteboard for arranging saved cards. Paid plans add MCP access for Claude and other LLMs, plus CSV and ZIP export.

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.

Sublime

• basic$0

  Limited cards, collections and canvases, with limited privacy, collaboration, related cards, search, summaries and integrations.

• premium$75

  per year

  Unlimited cards, collections and canvases, advanced privacy and collaboration, unlimited search and summaries, all integrations, and MCP, CSV and ZIP export.

• premium+$100

  per year

  Everything in premium, plus members-only events, a paid Substack membership, discounts on merch and zines, and access to the company's archives.

• lifetime$400

  one-time payment

  Everything in premium+, paid once, plus a 1:1 onboarding call and investor updates.

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.

Sublime

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime plan for $400

  A one-time payment of $400 covers everything in premium+ for good, and adds a 1:1 onboarding call and investor updates.