Top 10 Read-It-Later Apps

How often have you told yourself “I’ll read it later” after coming across an interesting article, only to forget about it altogether? In our fast-paced world of endless distractions, this phenomenon is more common than you might think. Fortunately, there’s a solution: read-it-later apps, which save articles for you to, well, read later.

If you’re searching for the best read-it-later app, then we’re guessing you’re a busy person. So, to help you avoid sifting through endless read-it-later app Reddit threads, we’ve decided to narrow down your search for you. Here is our expert list of the top 10 best read-it-later apps.

1. Pocket

Pocket, founded under the name Read It Later in 2007, is one of the big two of read-it-later apps. The Pocket read-it-later app lets you save, read, watch, and listen to saved articles for free. A premium subscription to the Pocket read-it-later app you a range of awesome features, including:

• Permanent library of everything you’ve saved - look up articles by keyword, topic, author, tag, and more
• Suggested tags - the more you tag, the smarter the suggestions become
• Unlimited highlighting in every article
• Custom reading experience, including rounder fonts, wider spacing, and condensed text

2. Instapaper

Instapaper is the other big name in read-it-later apps, hence the countless Instapaper vs Pocket Reddit threads. The free version is similar in quality, and it’s worth trying out both apps to see which you like best. The premium version of Instapaper is slightly cheaper, and includes these features:

• Full-text search through all the articles you’ve ever saved, including ones you’ve archived
• Unlimited notes – gets rid of the 5-note free monthly limit
• Text-to-speech playlists – create a playlist of saved articles, and sit back and listen (iOS & Android only)
• Speed-reading tool to get through articles quicker

3. Raindrop.io

Raindrop works well as a mobile app, but it’s best used as a read-it-later Chrome or Safari extension. Therefore, if you prefer to do your reading on a desktop, look no farther than Raindrop. Like the previous two options, Raindrop is a freemium app. The free version is actually pretty generous, offering unlimited bookmarks and devices. The premium version adds a host of features, including:

• Permanent, unlimited library
• Up to 10Gb of file uploads per month
• Cloud backup to your Dropbox or Google Drive account
• Create collections inside of collections
• Smart duplicate and broken links finder

4. Mailist

The Mailist Chrome extension works like any other read-it-later extension, but with one exception: instead of saving articles to an app, Mailist sends them all to you in a weekly newsletter. Mailist is highly customizable, allowing you to choose the number of links you receive each week and select your preferred delivery day. The premium version adds on a bunch of other features, such as:

• Unlimited import limit
• Daily (rather than weekly) email
• Newsletters from selected categories
• Create tags, assign tags to links, and filter by links

5. Evernote

Evernote is actually a multi-purpose app that lets you take notes, scan documents, save articles, and more. If all you need is a stand-alone read-it-later app, then it’s best to look elsewhere. But if you’re looking for a do-it-all app that incorporates saving articles, Evernote is the best choice. Among other things, the premium version lets you:

• Clip web pages
• Sync unlimited devices
• Annotate PDFs
• Upload up to 10 GB of data

6. Accelerator

Accelerator is a read-it-later and speed-reading app, and it’s the speed-reading capabilities that earn it a place on this list. With Accelerator, you can:

• Sync your Pocket or Instapaper accounts to speed read saved articles inside the Accelerator app
• Browse and save articles to read from anywhere on iOS
• Customize your reading with different themes, fonts, text sizes, and speeds

7. InstaWeb

InstaWeb is a dedicated app for iPhone and iPad that converts websites to PDF. In doing so, it removes all the distracting clutter involved with mobile webpages, making it easier for you to read the actual text. This is a great tool for saving articles you find on your mobile for offline reading. This app lets you:

• Offline storage using organized folder structure
• Cleans articles and reduces clutter (with in-app purchase)
• Share your PDF via email, message, Dropbox, or Google Drive
• Save favorite websites for easy access and quick PDF creation

8. PaperSpan

PaperSpan doesn’t have as many features as the best read-it-later apps listed here. With that said, if you’re on a limited budget and want a functional mobile app that turns your saved articles into audio, PaperSpan is your best option. Premium gives you some useful features, including:

• Offline reading and listening
• Record your thoughts on an article you’ve just read
• Get statistical insights into your reading routine

9. Feedly

Feedly is a leading news aggregator application. While traditional read-it-later apps let you save from anywhere on the web, Feedly lets you curate all your favorite news sources in the one place. This makes it a good choice if you have say 5 or 10 news sources you regularly go to and want to find them all on one app. The downside to Feedly is that it doesn’t work with every news source, so you may find some of your favorites missing. Pro features include:

• Customize your sources
• AI assistant prioritizes topics that matter to you
• Share insights with others

10. EmailThis

EmailThis is sort of like Mailist, except it sends each article in a separate email instead of in newsletter format. The end result: EmailThis turns your inbox into your reading list. When you come across interesting articles on web pages, just click your EmailThis bookmark to have the article de-cluttered and mailed to you. The pro version includes:

• Unlimited bookmarks
• Attach notes your bookmarks
• Save PDF snapshots
• Email yourself PDF, DOC, PPT, XLS files and images

Read-It-Later Apps Are All About Convenience

The best technologies make our lives easier. Read-it-later apps absolutely make our lives easier, taking all those articles we don’t have the time or strength for now and feeding them to us when we’re in the right frame of mine. Too busy to read that important article now? No problem, you can read it later!