Readwise Reader is the better fit when…
- You read feeds, newsletters and PDFs by the hundred
- You want spaced review of every highlight
- You use Android, Windows or the web
iki vs readwise reader
A reading powerhouse in the cloud, or a quiet library on your phone.
Readwise Reader is the most capable read-later app there is: feeds, newsletters, PDFs, YouTube and an AI that reads along. IKI reads less in bulk and keeps more kinds of saves, on your iPhone, as files.
Readwise ReaderIKI
Reads videosPartly: YouTube, with transcriptsYes: Yes
Transcribes voiceNo: No voice notesYes: Yes
Picks up screenshotsNo: NoYes: Yes
Answers with sourcesPartly: One document at a timeYes: Yes
Runs on the phoneNo: Their serversYes: Yes
Reader is built for people who read a lot, from everywhere: RSS feeds, email newsletters, PDFs and EPUBs, YouTube with transcripts, and highlights that flow into Readwise’s review system and out to Obsidian or Notion. Ghostreader, its AI, summarises, defines terms and runs your own prompts on the document you’re reading. All of it lives in Readwise’s cloud, under your account, for a subscription. IKI does less for reading and more for everything else you save, like screenshots, voice notes and reels. It reads all of it on your phone, keeps the library as markdown files and has a free plan with no time limit.
IKI is the better fit when…
- You save screenshots, voice notes and reels, not just articles
- You want to ask everything you saved, not one document
- You want the reading and the AI on your phone, and a free plan
side by side
The details.
| Question | Readwise Reader | IKI |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99/mo billed annually ($119.88/yr), or $12.99 monthly; 30-day free trial | Free; Pro $6.99/mo or $49/yr; Founder $99 once (500 seats) |
| Free tier | Trial only | Yes: unlimited saves, on-device AI, Ask, three recipes |
| Video | YouTube, with transcripts | Reels, Stories, Shorts and your own videos: speech and on-screen text |
| Voice notes | No | Transcribed on the device |
| Screenshots | Not what it’s for | New ones arrive by themselves, text already read |
| Asking questions | About the document you’re reading | Across everything you saved, with sources |
| AI, and where it runs | Ghostreader, in their cloud | On your phone, Apple’s on-device model |
| Feeds and newsletters | Yes, RSS and email newsletters | No. IKI keeps what you choose to save |
| Where your library lives | Readwise’s cloud | Your iPhone, or your own iCloud Drive |
| Export | Highlights to Obsidian, Notion and more | The library is markdown files; nothing to export |
| Account | Required | None |
Checked in September 2026 on readwise.io/pricing/reader. Sources: Readwise Reader pricing.
credit where it’s due
Where Readwise Reader wins.
Volume and variety
Feeds, newsletters, EPUBs, PDFs and YouTube in one inbox. For heavy readers it takes in far more than IKI.
Highlight review
Readwise resurfaces highlights from every book and article with spaced repetition. IKI has nothing like it.
Platforms
Web, desktop, iOS and Android. IKI is Apple-only.
moving over
How to move over.
- 1IKI doesn’t have a direct Reader importer yet.
- 2Export your highlights from Readwise as markdown (or to an Obsidian vault) and share the .md files into IKI. Markdown is IKI’s own format.
- 3For articles you want kept in full, share the links from Safari into IKI. Each one is fetched and read on your phone.
Start with one save.
It’s free to start, and every save is a file you own.
Free · iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac · Made for iOS 27
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