The best Readwise alternatives in 2026
The best Readwise alternatives in 2026 are Glasp, a free highlighter that imports Kindle highlights and emails a daily review; Matter, a read-later app with highlights; Hikara, for highlights from print books and how books connect; and Obsidian, for keeping highlights as notes.
Readwise does three jobs at once: it gathers highlights from Kindle, Apple Books and other apps, resurfaces them in a Daily Review, and, with Reader, saves articles to read later. No single alternative does all three; each below covers part of it.
Updated Prices and features checked By Hikara Team
How this list is ranked
Ranked by how much of Readwise's job each one covers: collecting highlights from several places, reviewing them, and reading later.
We make Hikara, so it's ranked by the same criteria as everything else, and no app paid to be included. Prices are as listed on each app's own site on the date above.
#1
Glasp
A free highlighter for the web, PDFs and Kindle.
Best for: Readers who want Readwise's Kindle import and daily review for free.
Pros
- Highlighting, organising and exporting are free.
- Imports Kindle highlights and notes from Kindle Cloud Reader.
- Daily review emails with your Kindle highlights.
- Exports to Notion, Obsidian and other note apps.
Cons
- Kindle highlights come in through Kindle Cloud Reader.
- Web highlighting needs its browser extension.
Pricing: Free.
#2
Matter
A read-later app for iPhone, iPad and the web.
Best for: Readers who mainly want a replacement for Readwise Reader.
Pros
- A free read-later library with no limit.
- Highlights and notes, including while listening.
- Premium syncs highlights to Notion, Obsidian or Readwise.
Cons
- Integrations and full-text search need Premium.
Pricing: Free; Premium $8/month or $60/year.
#3
Hikara
A reading tracker that keeps highlights from the books you read.
Best for: Readers of print books who want highlights tied to their library.
Pros
- Save a highlight by typing it or photographing the page.
- One of your highlights resurfaces each day.
- Finds how your books connect: echoes, challenges and bridges.
- Dialogues: talk to your books, grounded in your highlights.
Cons
- No Kindle or Readwise sync.
- Resurfacing picks one highlight a day; it doesn't schedule reviews.
- No read-later app.
Pricing: Free plan; Basic $3.49/mo; Premium $6.99/mo, with a 7-day free trial.
#4
Obsidian
A free, local-first Markdown notes app.
Best for: Readers who want their highlights as notes they own.
Pros
- Free for personal and work use.
- Highlights live as files on your device.
- Glasp and Matter can export to it.
Cons
- No highlight import or review of its own.
- Everything is set up by hand.
Pricing: Free; Sync from $4/month billed annually.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best free Readwise alternative?
Glasp: highlighting, organising and exporting are free, it can import your Kindle highlights, and it emails you a daily review of them.
What happened to Omnivore and Pocket?
Both have shut down. Omnivore closed in November 2024 after its team joined ElevenLabs, and Mozilla shut Pocket down on July 8, 2025. That's why neither is on this list.
Is Hikara a Readwise alternative?
Only partly. Hikara keeps highlights you type or photograph and shows you one each day, but it doesn't sync Kindle or other apps. Its main job is tracking books and showing how they connect.
Curious about Hikara specifically?
The quickest way to see if it fits is to import your Goodreads export, or add a few books by search, and look at the connections it finds. The free plan needs no card.