The best read-it-later apps
Pocket shut down in 2025 and Omnivore in 2024. The read-it-later apps still standing, what each is best at, which use AI, and which keep the page if the link dies.
TLDR
- Two big ones are gone: Omnivore in November 2024 and Pocket in July 2025.
- For reading long articles on your phone: Instapaper, Readwise Reader, or Matter.
- If Pocket was really a pile of links you meant to read and never did, a bookmark manager is the better fit: Raindrop or Savepad.
What happened to Pocket and Omnivore
Mozilla shut Pocket down on 8 July 2025, exports ran until November, and then the data was deleted. Omnivore, the free open-source one a lot of people moved to after Pocket wobbled, closed in November 2024 when its team joined ElevenLabs.
So if you’re picking a read-it-later app now, pick one with an export, and use it.
For actually reading
Instapaper. The original, still going. A clean reading view, highlights, notes, and text-to-speech. Free with a Premium tier.
Readwise Reader. The power user’s reader: articles, PDFs, newsletters, and RSS in one inbox, with excellent highlighting that syncs to your notes app. Paid, and it has AI features (Ghostreader) you can ignore.
Matter. Beautiful, with good text-to-speech and newsletter support. Free with a paid tier.
For keeping, and sometimes reading
Be honest: how many of your Pocket saves did you read? Most people’s Pocket was 2,000 links and 40 they needed again. For that, you want something you can search.
Raindrop. Free, unlimited links, collections, and on Pro, full-text search and permanent copies.
Savepad. Every link gets a clean reading copy (so you can still read it later, on your phone) and a full-page snapshot, so it survives the site dying. Search reads the full text. It isn’t trying to be the nicest reader, it’s trying to make sure you find it again. The read-later use case goes through how that works.
Compared
| Tool | Best for | Keeps the page | Highlights | AI | Free |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instapaper | Reading on your phone | Text copy | Yes | Not the point | Yes, Premium extra |
| Readwise Reader | Highlighting everything | Text copy | Best | Ghostreader | Trial |
| Matter | Listening and newsletters | Text copy | Yes | Some | Yes, paid extra |
| Raindrop.io | Lots of links | Pro | Pro | Pro | Yes |
| Savepad | Finding it again | Snapshot and text | Notes | None | 150 saves |
Moving your Pocket export
If you got your Pocket CSV before the deadline, most of these import it. In Savepad it’s Settings → Import and export, and Pocket’s tags come across as tags. The import docs have the details, and newsletters you meant to read can go in by email: how to get newsletters out of your inbox.
FAQ
What replaced Pocket?
Nothing official. Mozilla shut Pocket down in July 2025. Instapaper, Readwise Reader, and Matter are the closest reading apps, and Raindrop or Savepad suit people who used Pocket as a bookmark dump.
Is there a free read-it-later app?
Instapaper and Matter have free tiers. Raindrop is free with unlimited bookmarks, and Savepad is free for 150 saves with a reading copy of each.
What happened to Omnivore?
Omnivore, the free open-source reader, shut down in November 2024 when its team joined ElevenLabs.