Alternative Solutions for Pocket: Top 7 Applications for Delayed Reading Experience
Pocket, the widely acclaimed "read it later" app, announced its shutdown, leaving thousands of users without a convenient way to save articles for future perusal. The platform, known for its "Save" button, ad-free and uncluttered reading experience, offline access, and text-to-speech features, will cease functioning shortly.
For those seeking a Pocket replacement, we have scoured the current crop of tools and selected those offering similar key features. Here are seven alternatives that either match or surpass Pocket in various aspects:
1. Raindrop
Raindrop supports the import of Pocket's data, runs on various platforms, and provides a free and premium subscription model. It excels in organizing links through collections, nested folders, tags, and image previews. While primarily a bookmark manager, it falls short in offering offline access and a clean reading mode.
The free version includes all essential features, while the premium subscription, priced at $3.60 monthly, adds full-text search, AI suggestions, extended annotations, backups, and up to 10GB of monthly uploads.
2. Karakeep
Karakeep, an open-source tool, imports Pocket data and offers platforms for web, desktop, and mobile devices. It excels in automatic extraction of titles, descriptions, and cover images, as well as OCR text recognition from images, AI tagging, and full-text search. The service allows users to group saved items into lists and save not only articles but also videos, documents, and other content.
Karakeep is entirely free, with no subscriptions or ads.
3. Matter
Catering to modern delayed reading habits, Matter supports articles, emails, newsletters, podcast transcriptions, text-to-speech, and intelligent tags. Switch between text and audio seamlessly and sync with Notion, Kindle, and other services.
The free version maintains core functions, while the premium subscription, priced from $6.67 per month, offers advanced features like AI transcriptions and improved voices.
4. Readwise
Readwise, a service that combines reading, annotating, and content management, suits professionals working with information. Save articles, books, emails, and videos with transcriptions, offering text-to-speech, offline full-text search, tags, notes, and integrations with Notion, Obsidian, and other platforms. Notably, it features an AI assistant to help clarify, search, and understand complex fragments.
It offers a free 30-day trial, after which it costs $10 monthly.
5. Goodlinks
A minimalistic reading app for Apple's ecosystem, Goodlinks provides a focus on comfort and privacy. Save articles without ads, add notes, and use tags for sorting. All selections can be exported in Markdown and easily moved to other apps. Its pleasant interface, offline access, and deep integration with iOS and macOS make it an ideal choice for users within this ecosystem.
The app costs approximately $8 as a one-time purchase in the App Store.
6. Double Memory
Double Memory, a unique app for saving links, notes, screenshots, and text from the clipboard, operates without registration, servers, extensions, or an internet connection. Save content instantly via ⌘ + C twice and browse it in a visual card gallery. This app supports search, tags, image support, and OCR, with an interface reminiscent of a Pinterest feed.
The app is available for free, with an optional subscription to support the developer.
7. Instapaper
One of the earliest read-it-later services, Instapaper, saves articles as clean text without ads and unnecessary formatting, allowing users to highlight sections, add notes, and sort materials into folders. It features text-to-speech, Kindle sending, and offline reading. The interface is minimalistic and reliable, without distracting elements or unnecessary features.
The free version is limited: only 5 notes per month, no full-text search, and text-to-speech in playlists. A full subscription costs $5.99 per month.
The information in this byline was first published in March 2017 and updated in May 2025.
In addition to these primary alternatives, we have included a list of notable mentions:
- Web Highlights: focuses on highlighting and annotating web content with offline access and synchronization.
- Save to Notion: great for users already within the Notion ecosystem; offers robust organization and offline access.
- Wallabag: open-source, self-hostable alternative with ad-free reading, offline access, and text-to-speech on supported devices.
Each of these alternatives provides various advantages and trade-offs, ensuring that there is a suitable option for every user's specific needs and preferences.
- If you're looking for a Pocket alternative that offers a free and premium subscription model, Raindrop is a viable option. It imports Pocket's data, supports collection organization, and includes features like full-text search, AI suggestions, and extended annotations.
- For those seeking an open-source tool that supports Pocket data and offers offline access, AI tagging, and full-text search, Karakeep could be an ideal choice. It's completely free, with no subscriptions or ads.