Is there a free alternative to Readwise?

You may already be looking for a free alternative to Readwise if your trial is nearly over, and now’s the perfect time to take another look at what’s out there.

Before you start comparing alternatives, though, it’s worth thinking about how you use Readwise and which features you’d miss. Maybe you love saving articles to Reader and listening to them on your commute. Perhaps you’ve built up a collection of highlights you want to keep. Or maybe Readwise is where you save all those interesting articles you’re definitely going to read one day (we’ve all been there).

The good news is that you might not need to pay for all those features, particularly if you only use a handful of them. There are plenty of free tools that can do the jobs you rely on Readwise for, although some come with a few compromises.

In this article, we’re looking at four free Readwise alternatives for listening to articles, saving interesting reads, highlighting useful passages, and organizing everything you want to come back to later. We’ll also look at what each option is missing, so you can decide which one works for you without adding another monthly subscription. Let’s get into it!

Summary

You don’t have to pay for Readwise if you only need a few of its features. Here are four free options worth trying:

• ElevenReader Free: Turn articles, PDFs, and ebooks into audio, with 10 hours of listening each month and more than 1,000 voices.
• Obsidian Web Clipper: Save web pages and highlights directly into your Obsidian notes.
• Raindrop.io: Keep unlimited bookmarks and highlights organized in collections you can access across devices.
• Notion Web Clipper: Save articles and research in your free Notion workspace, alongside your existing notes.

Each app does something different, so think about how you use Readwise before choosing a replacement.

How to choose a free alternative to Readwise

Readwise has several features, but you might only use one or two of them regularly.

The Reader feature lets you save articles, PDFs, and newsletters to come back to later. You can also listen to saved text instead of reading it on your screen.

You can save passages you’ve highlighted in books and articles and send those highlights to apps such as Notion or Obsidian, so you can keep them with your notes. There’s also Daily Review, which shows you highlights you’ve saved in the past to help you remember them.

There may be loads of features you don’t use. If you mainly listen to articles, an app that turns text into audio could do the job for free. If you only really highlight or use the app to keep research organized, a different tool may work for less money.

Here’s how the four free options compare.

When comparing a free alternative to Readwise, think about which features you use most. That will help you find an app that does what you need without paying for features you rarely touch.

4 free Readwise alternatives for different reading habits

We’ve picked four apps that can replace some of Readwise’s main features without a monthly subscription.

Here’s what you can do with each one, how to get started, and what you might miss if you switch.

1. ElevenReader Free for listening to articles

Got an article open that you’ve been meaning to finish, but don’t fancy spending another half hour staring at your screen? ElevenReader can turn that article into audio so you can listen instead.

Our free plan gives you 10 hours of text-to-audio each month, with more than 1,000 natural-sounding voices to choose from. You can upload articles, PDFs, EPUBs, and Word documents, then listen on your computer or through the ElevenReader app on iPhone or Android.

How does ElevenReader Free work?

Getting started is pretty straightforward. Add an article or another supported file, choose a voice you like, and press play.

You get 10 hours of listening each month, and your allowance resets automatically. You can keep using the free plan month after month without starting a paid subscription.

ElevenReader also lets you speed up playback to 4.0x if you prefer listening faster. The words are highlighted on screen as they’re spoken, which can help you follow along with longer articles.

Your library and listening progress sync between the website and mobile apps, too. You could save an article on your computer before work, then listen to it on your phone during the commute. Bookmarks let you save a spot you want to return to later.

What will you miss compared with Readwise?

ElevenReader is a great free alternative to Readwise if you mainly use Reader to listen to articles and documents.

Readwise has more features for collecting and managing written highlights. For example, you can add tags to highlights and send them to note-taking apps. ElevenReader lets you bookmark sections, but it doesn’t offer the same tools for organizing and exporting highlights.

If listening is your main priority, though, you may find you don’t need those extra Readwise features.

Our guide to listening to PDFs on iPhone shows you how to turn a document into audio. You can also compare other options in our article on text-to-speech iPhone apps.

2. Obsidian Web Clipper for saving articles and highlights

If you use Readwise to collect interesting passages from articles, Obsidian Web Clipper could be a good replacement. It’s a free browser extension that lets you save web pages and highlighted text directly into Obsidian, a note-taking app.

Obsidian stores your notes in a folder called a vault. When you save an article using Web Clipper, it becomes a Markdown file in that folder. Markdown is a simple text format that lets you keep notes without needing special software to open them.

How does Obsidian Web Clipper work?

Say you’re researching a topic and find an article with a few interesting points. You can highlight the passages you want to keep and save them straight into Obsidian. The next time you open your notes, you’ll find those saved passages alongside anything else you’ve written about the topic. You can organize the notes into folders and return to them whenever you need to.

There’s no paid subscription required for the Web Clipper, and your saved articles and highlights are stored in your Obsidian vault.

What will you miss compared with Readwise?

Readwise can collect highlights from different services and bring older highlights back through Daily Review. Obsidian Web Clipper doesn’t do that automatically. You’ll need to organize your saved articles and decide when to revisit them.

For people who already use Obsidian, this may be a small compromise. You can keep articles and highlights with the rest of your notes without paying for another app.

3. Raindrop.io for organizing saved articles and links

Ever saved an interesting article, forgotten where you put it, and spent ages trying to find it again? Raindrop.io can help you keep track of everything. It’s a free bookmarking app that lets you save links to articles, websites, and other online content. You can sort your bookmarks into collections, so they’re easier to find when you need them.

The free plan includes unlimited bookmarks, collections, and highlights. You can also use Raindrop.io across as many devices as you like.

How does Raindrop.io work?

Imagine you’re planning a holiday and keep finding interesting travel articles. Instead of leaving dozens of browser tabs open, you can save the pages to a collection called “Holiday ideas.”

You can create separate collections for work research, recipes, or anything else you want to keep. Raindrop.io also lets you highlight passages on saved pages.

Your bookmarks sync across devices, so an article you save on your laptop will be available when you open Raindrop.io on your phone.

What will you miss compared with Readwise?

Raindrop.io is great for saving and organizing web content, but it doesn’t offer Readwise’s Daily Review feature or the same options for sending highlights to other note-taking apps. Some extra features, including full-text search and reminders, also require Raindrop Pro.

If you mainly use Readwise to keep track of articles you want to revisit, Raindrop.io gives you a free way to organize them.

4. Notion Web Clipper for keeping research with your notes

Already use Notion for work, study, or personal projects? Notion Web Clipper lets you save articles directly into your existing workspace. It’s a free browser tool that works with Notion’s free personal plan. You can use it to collect online articles and keep them alongside the notes you’re already making.

How does Notion Web Clipper work?

Say you’re writing a research paper and find an article you want to use later.

Click the Notion Web Clipper extension in your browser and choose where you want to save the page. You can add it to an existing Notion page or database, so it’s easy to find when you’re working on your paper again.

You can add your own notes to the saved page and organize it alongside other sources for the same project. You won’t need to search through your browser bookmarks every time you want to find an article.

Notion’s free personal plan is enough to get started, so you won’t need another paid subscription.

What will you miss compared with Readwise?

Notion Web Clipper focuses on saving web pages. It doesn’t offer Readwise’s Daily Review or the same tools for collecting highlights from books and other apps.

You’ll need to decide how to organize your saved pages, too. Notion gives you plenty of freedom to create your own system, but that does mean spending a little time setting it up.

If you already keep your research in Notion, the Web Clipper is an easy way to add online articles to your notes for free.

Can you replace Readwise’s Daily Review for free?

One of Readwise’s biggest features is Daily Review, which brings back highlights you’ve saved in the past.

Maybe you highlighted a brilliant quote in a book six months ago. Daily Review can show it to you again, so you don’t forget it.

None of the four free apps we’ve covered offers exactly the same feature, but you can create a simple review habit yourself.

How to review your highlights without paying

If you use Obsidian, you could create a folder for your favorite highlights and spend a few minutes looking through them every Friday.

You can do something similar in Notion. Save your best quotes and notes on a dedicated page, then set a reminder on your phone to revisit them.

There’s a reason this approach can help. Cornell University’s study advice recommends spaced practice, which means returning to information over time instead of trying to remember everything in one session.

The main difference is that Readwise brings your highlights back automatically. With a free alternative, you’ll need to set aside the time yourself.

When is Readwise still worth paying for?

Free alternatives can work well if you mainly use one feature, but Readwise may still be worth the cost if you use several of its tools regularly.

Readwise Full costs $12.99 per month, or $119.88 per year when billed annually. It includes Reader, highlight syncing, Daily Review, and AI features.

Keep Readwise if you use several features together

Think about how you use Readwise during a normal week. You might save an article to Reader, highlight a few passages, send those highlights to Notion, and review them again later.

Readwise can handle that whole process in one place.

Replacing every feature with a different free app could mean spending more time moving between services. If you regularly use Readwise for several tasks, keeping your subscription may be easier.

Try a free alternative to Readwise if you only need one feature

If you mainly use Reader to listen to articles, ElevenReader Free could give you the listening features you need without paying for Readwise Full.

The other apps are better suited to saving and organizing written content. Obsidian Web Clipper works well for highlights, Raindrop.io keeps bookmarks organized, and Notion Web Clipper saves online articles with your project notes.

Take a look at how you’ve used Readwise over the past month. If you’ve barely touched some of its features, you might be paying for more than you need.

Start listening to your reading list for free with ElevenReader

Finding a free alternative to Readwise is much easier once you know which features you want to keep.

If listening to saved articles is your main reason for using Reader, ElevenReader gives you a simple way to enjoy your reading list without another monthly subscription.

Our Free plan includes 10 hours of text-to-audio each month and more than 1,000 voices to choose from. You can listen to articles, PDFs, and ebooks on your phone or computer, with your listening progress saved across devices.

That article you’ve been meaning to finish for weeks? You could be listening to it on your next commute.

Start listening for free with ElevenReader today.

FAQs about free Readwise alternatives

Is Readwise free?

Readwise offers a 30-day free trial. After that, Readwise Full costs $12.99 per month or $119.88 per year. You need a paid plan to keep using Reader after your trial.

What is the best free alternative to Readwise for listening?

ElevenReader Free is a good choice if you mainly use Readwise Reader to listen to articles. You get 10 hours of text-to-audio each month, more than 1,000 voices, and listening progress that syncs between web and mobile.

Is there a free app like Readwise for saving highlights?

Yes. Obsidian Web Clipper saves highlighted passages into your Obsidian notes. Raindrop.io also lets you save unlimited highlights for free.

Can I use Readwise Reader for free?

You can use Readwise Reader during its 30-day free trial. After that, you’ll need a Readwise Full subscription to continue using it.

Can ElevenReader replace Readwise?

ElevenReader can replace Readwise Reader if you mainly want to listen to articles and documents. It doesn’t have the same tools for organizing and exporting written highlights.

Can I save articles for free without Readwise?

Yes. Obsidian Web Clipper, Raindrop.io, and Notion Web Clipper all let you save web content for free. Choose the app that works best with how you organize your notes.