Instapaper is a read-it-later or bookmarking app. It makes it easy to save articles, song lyrics, recipes, and other things that you find interesting so that you can read them later, on the go, or whenever you want. You can get Instapaper on both iOS and Android, as well as on the Kindle. One of the best apps for saving content to read later is Instapaper because it is user-friendly and has a ton of features.
Most web pages are saved by Instapaper as text-only copies, allowing users to read their favorite blogs, articles, and other items without being interrupted. The “highlight” feature in Instapaper makes it simple to highlight text and add notes to articles you’ve saved. You can use it to find your favorite quote, mark it to remember it, and share it as well. There is also a paid plan for Instapaper that gives you more of the best features.
Pocket is another app that has some of the same features as Instapaper. The best thing about this app is that you can use it for free. You can also save and read your favorite articles, stories, and videos from all over the web with the Pocket app. Pocket is available for iOS, Android, and Kindle, so you can use it whether you have an iPhone or an Android phone.
The reader will have a great time reading with this app because it can be changed in many ways and is easy to use. You can also listen to your favorite saved articles and stories, so you can learn without having to use your hands. Now that we know about both apps, let’s look at how Instapaper and Pocket are different.
Pocket vs Instapaper: Comparison Table
| Feature | Instapaper | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Basic version free, Premium $2.99/month or $29.99/year |
| User Interface | Simple and easy to use | User-friendly, visually appealing |
| Save Options | Save articles, videos, and images from the web | Save articles, videos, and images from the web |
| Reading Options | Customize font, text size, and background | Customize font, text size, and background |
| Offline Reading | Yes, with all saved content available offline | Yes, with all saved content available offline |
| Search Function | Yes, with a robust search function | Yes, with a robust search function |
| Social Media Sharing | Yes, easy sharing options on social media platforms | Yes, easy sharing options on social media platforms |
| Additional Features | Recommendations based on saved content | Text-to-speech feature for hands-free reading |
| Official link | Visit Website | Visit Website |
Pocket vs Instapaper Aesthetics
On both their web clients and their mobile apps, the interfaces of both apps are easy on the eyes. But if you like a simple interface, you should use Instapaper instead. Pocket is the right choice if you want more color and fun.
The interface of Instapaper doesn’t have any bright colors or options for personalizing it. The black-and-white layout keeps things realistic. Only the selected tabs (highlighted in blue) and the content itself will have color.
Color gradients add a little bit of risk to Pocket. It gives each item you want to read later a different color tag and adds fun icons to your profile, notifications, and articles you like. If you like clean interfaces, it might seem a little more cluttered, but if you want a modern and classy look, Pocket is just right.
Pocket vs Instapaper Customization
More precise adjustments can be made to Instapaper. You can change the font, enlarge or minimize the font, separate the paragraphs, and alter the indentation. The background comes in four different colors as well. Pocket doesn’t let you change things as much.
Free users only have three background colors and two fonts to choose from. You’ll need the Premium plan if you want to use eight more fonts. Whether you use iOS or Android to get to the apps can also change the fonts you can choose from. On iOS, you can choose from four different themes, but on Android, you can only choose between two: light and dark.
Pocket vs Instapaper Videos
If you want to save YouTube and Vimeo videos in the same place you save articles, both Instapaper and Vimeo have a separate tab for that. But it looks like Pocket is a bit better at saving videos. For example, when we saved a link to a YouTube video in Pocket, it took the title and thumbnail from the video. When we saved the same link in Instapaper, it didn’t save the thumbnail or title. Instead, it just replaced the title with the URL.
This would make it very hard to watch the videos you saved in Instapaper because you wouldn’t know which link went with which video. Even though Pocket is better for videos, you can’t download videos to watch offline on either app like you can with articles. So, saving videos to Instapaper or Pocket isn’t always that useful and probably won’t be a big reason why you choose one app over the other.
Pocket vs Instapaper Supported Platforms
Nearly all platforms can be used with both Instapaper and Pocket. Both have apps for iOS and Android, websites, and add-ons for Google Chrome, Safari, and Firefox that make it easy to save articles from the web. Instapaper doesn’t have a Mac app, but Pocket does.
Even though they both help the Kindle in some ways, things can get complicated here. There are three ways to do this with Instapaper. The free version of Instapaper comes with the first two: an old-school USB transfer and an automated Send-to-Kindle email newsletter. The third way, using a bookmarklet to send articles directly to your Kindle, is only available if you pay extra.
Pocket: Pros and Cons
Pros
- Free to use
- Simple and easy-to-use interface
- Robust search function
- Offers recommendations based on saved content
Cons
- Basic features may not be enough for some users
- Limited customization options for font and text size
Instapaper: Pros and Cons
Pros
- User-friendly, visually appealing interface
- Customizable font, text size, and background
- Text-to-speech feature for hands-free reading
- Easy sharing options on social media platforms
Cons
- Basic version is limited in features
- Premium version is relatively expensive
Which one should you consider?
When you separate the good bookmark apps from the bad ones, Pocket and Instapaper stand out. Both services help you keep track of everything you read online and save it in a more organized way, but they have very different ways of giving you access to the articles you have saved. Overall, Pocket is the winner of this comparison, but a lot will depend on your needs.
FAQs
If you listen to books more than you read them, Pocket is a better choice. On the other hand, if you like to read on a screen, Instapaper is a better choice because it is designed to make reading easy on a screen. If you care more about how much something costs, Instapaper is a better deal than Pocket.
Instapaper 7.7 is now available in the iOS App Store. It adds support for the iPad Pro, shortcuts for the Smart Keyboard, and a True Black theme for the iPhone X. Instapaper now supports the following keyboard shortcuts for Smart Keyboards: and to move through articles in list view and and to move through articles in grid view.
