It's hard to keep up with everything you find on the web, like an article you don't have time to read right now or a video you want to watch again later. Years ago, I tackled this problem with Pocket, a popular app that lets you bookmark an article on a separate server and then retrieve it to read at your leisure. Since then, a number of similar services have appeared, offering a variety of features – and a variety of prices.
Below is a description of Pocket and some of the apps available. All (with one exception) offer free versions and sync across a range of devices, including web browsers, Android devices and iPhones.
Pocket has developed a beautifully designed interface with plenty of options that let you sort your articles by newest or oldest, select favorites, view them in list or grid form, and archive the ones you want to keep or organize them via tags. The home screen displays your most recently saved articles, as well as its own list of “Paperbacks Worth Reading.” You can share your articles via social media or recommend them within the app for others to find. There are a number of curated reading articles, extensions for a variety of browsers including Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari, and apps for Android and iOS devices.
Pocket is now “part of the Firefox family” and as of June 11, 2023, Pocket users have been notified that they will need to switch to Mozilla accounts. However, if you use Pocket and already have a Firefox account or have no problem creating one, you can simply convert the account and continue using Pocket as before.
Paid version: The premium version ($4.99 per month or $44.99 per year) adds a permanent library of everything you've saved (in case it disappears from the web), as well as full-text search and other features.
Like Pocket, Instapaper started as a simple web add-on and has gone through several iterations (and owners). It's currently part of an independent company called Instapaper Holdings. The web app has a nice and simple interface. While there's no grid view, you can toggle thumbnails on and off. It serves (and syncs between) web browsers (using a Chrome extension, Safari extension, Firefox extension, or bookmarklet), iOS, Android, and Kindle. With a free account, you can save an unlimited number of articles, videos, and other content. You can also highlight text in the articles you save, create up to five notes per month, and edit the name, link, or summary of each article.
Paid version: The premium version ($5.99 per month or $59.99 per year) adds full-text search for your saved documents, unlimited notes, a permanent archive, and text-to-speech.
Raindrop may not be as simple as Instapaper, but it has a lot of features that can be helpful, especially if you are serious about your information gathering. (And it is one of edge Editor David Pierce.) The web version lets you display your articles in a variety of formats, including an interesting one called a mood board. Like most of the others listed here, the free version of Raindrop offers unlimited bookmark storage on an unlimited number of devices; this includes apps for Macs, iOS devices, Android devices, Linux devices, and extensions for the Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge browsers. You can share with others and edit titles, tags, and descriptions.
Paid version: The Pro version ($3 per month or $28 per year) offers AI suggestions, full-text search, cloud backup, and a permanent library of all your bookmarked websites, among other features.
PaperSpan is an old-fashioned, simple app that's fine if you want a really basic bookmarking service—and it promises no ads and no tracking, which is a plus. You can create separate folders for your saved bookmarks, but that's about it; there are mobile apps for iOS and Android, and extensions for Chrome and Firefox. Unlike other services listed here, there are no pretty graphics, highlighting, or the choice between lists and grids. But if you're just saving articles for easy reading and don't care about all the fancy add-ons the other options offer, this is for you.
Matter is currently only available for iOS devices and the web, with extensions for Chrome, Safari, and Firefox browsers. The free version allows you to do a variety of read-later tasks, including highlighting, adding notes, and listening to an audio reading of the article; the homepage offers suggestions for what to read next. The iOS app offers a little more than the web version. You can set a reading goal and add your Gmail address to pull your newsletters into the app. You can also sync highlights with note-taking apps like Notion or Obsidian, or send articles to your Kindle.
Paid version: Matter Premium costs $14.99 per month or $59.99 per year and adds HD audio with a more natural voice, AI transcription of podcasts and YouTube videos, and integrations with other services.
Omnivore is a relatively new, promising open source bookmarking app. It has a straightforward interface that lets you view your articles in lists or as a gallery. Like many of the more sophisticated readers, you can mark an article, add notes or labels, or archive it. Interestingly, you can view your notes and marks both in the article itself and in the gallery/listing as a sidebar. There are extensions for a variety of browsers, including Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari, as well as mobile apps for iOS and Android. If you want to use more than the basic features, it's probably best if you're familiar with open source software, but overall this is a useful and usable app.
Paid version: None. Users are asked to donate if needed.
Readwise's Reader, which lets you save many different types of content, including YouTube videos (and their transcriptions), is the only paid-only app listed here. The edgeDavid Pierce recommended it recently and I have to say, it's fascinating. Reader adds a bar to the top of your browser that lets you overlay notes, tags, and more directly into the original article as you read. A checkmark on the extension icon indicates that it's active. Uncheck it and the highlights disappear from your original article, but not from the copy saved in Reader. You also get a personal email address that you can use to forward newsletters and other emails that clutter up your inbox directly to Reader. I just wish there was some kind of free basic version.
Paid version: You get a one-month free trial (or two if you want), after which you'll need to subscribe to Readwise and Reader for $12.99 per month or $119.88 per year.
Update from 09.09.2024: This article was originally published on February 24, 2022; entries have been updated and new apps added.