What is the best Readwise Reader alternative?

It depends on what you keep. For YouTube videos and podcasts you want to search by what was said, and query from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or other MCP clients, BrainTube. For summaries inside one app with native mobile apps, Recall. For a free notebook over a fixed set of sources, NotebookLM. For public web highlights, Glasp. For a plain read-later queue, Instapaper.

Is there a free Readwise Reader alternative?

Yes. Readwise has no free plan (a 30-day trial, then from $9.99 a month billed yearly). BrainTube Free costs $0 with unlimited saves; Recall, NotebookLM, Glasp, Instapaper and Obsidian also have free options.

Which Readwise Reader alternative is best for YouTube?

One that keeps transcripts and searches across them. BrainTube transcribes every video you save, imports playlists and Liked videos, follows channels, and links chat answers to the timestamp. Reader itself pulls YouTube transcripts so you can highlight them.

Can I move my Readwise highlights to another app?

Yes. Readwise exports highlights as a CSV, and BrainTube's Import Hub takes Readwise CSV exports along with Kindle clippings, Pocket and Instapaper exports and Markdown files.

What happened to Pocket and Omnivore?

Both shut down: Omnivore in 2024 and Pocket in 2025. Their exports can be imported into BrainTube, up to 500 links at a time.

Alternatives · 2026

Readwise Reader alternatives

Reader is built for reading and highlighting. If most of what you keep is video and audio, or you want an AI to search it, these fit differently.

By Ilian Raykov, founder of BrainTube

Updated 30 October 2026

The short answer

Keep Readwise Reader if highlighting articles, ebooks and newsletters is your core habit. For YouTube and podcasts you can search by what was said, from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and other MCP clients, use BrainTube (free plan). For summaries inside one app with mobile apps, Recall. For a free research notebook, NotebookLM. For public highlights, Glasp. For a plain read-later queue, Instapaper.

App	Best at	YouTube and podcasts	Other AIs can search it	Free plan
BrainTube	Searching and asking about everything you saved	Transcribes both; chat answers link to the timestamp	Yes, read-write MCP: Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and others	Yes; Starter $9/mo
Recall	Summaries read inside one app	Saves YouTube and podcasts	Read-only MCP (as of 4 Oct 2026)	Yes; Plus $10/mo billed yearly
NotebookLM	Researching a fixed set of sources	YouTube links as sources, per notebook	Assistant inside Google	Yes
Glasp	Highlighting the web, shared publicly	Not verified	MCP with 9 tools; only write is save_bookmark	Yes (highlights public by default); Pro $12.50/mo
Instapaper	A simple read-later queue	Not verified	Not verified	Yes
Obsidian	Writing your own notes from what you read	Not verified	Not verified	Yes, for local use
Readwise Reader	Reading and highlighting articles, PDFs, EPUBs, newsletters, RSS	Pulls YouTube transcripts to highlight	Official read-write MCP	No (30-day trial); $9.99/mo billed yearly

Features and prices from each vendor's site, October 2026. Readwise, Recall and Glasp MCP details as of 4 October 2026.

Where Readwise Reader still wins

Reader is a polished reading app: articles, PDFs, EPUBs, newsletters and RSS in one queue, highlighting that syncs to your notes apps, and an official read-write MCP server. If reading and highlighting is the habit you want to keep, stay with it.

When to look elsewhere

Most of what you learn from is video and audio. You want to search a two-hour podcast by what was said, not highlight it line by line.
You want a free plan. Reader has a trial, not a free tier.
You want to ask questions across everything you saved, from the AI tools you already use.

Where BrainTube fits

BrainTube saves YouTube videos, podcasts, articles, PDFs, EPUB ebooks, Notion pages and screenshots, and transcribes and indexes each one. It imports Readwise CSV exports, schedules reviews with FSRS spaced repetition, and runs a read-write MCP server on every plan, so Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and other MCP clients can search your library and save into it. Export your library as Markdown or Anki cards from Settings, or the whole corpus through MCP.

More: BrainTube vs Readwise, apps to search YouTube videos by transcript, NotebookLM alternatives for YouTube and moving from Pocket or Omnivore. Coming from Readwise itself? See switching from Readwise.

Frequently asked

What is the best Readwise Reader alternative?: It depends on what you keep. For YouTube videos and podcasts you want to search by what was said, and query from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or other MCP clients, BrainTube. For summaries inside one app with native mobile apps, Recall. For a free notebook over a fixed set of sources, NotebookLM. For public web highlights, Glasp. For a plain read-later queue, Instapaper.
Is there a free Readwise Reader alternative?: Yes. Readwise has no free plan (a 30-day trial, then from $9.99 a month billed yearly). BrainTube Free costs $0 with unlimited saves; Recall, NotebookLM, Glasp, Instapaper and Obsidian also have free options.
Which Readwise Reader alternative is best for YouTube?: One that keeps transcripts and searches across them. BrainTube transcribes every video you save, imports playlists and Liked videos, follows channels, and links chat answers to the timestamp. Reader itself pulls YouTube transcripts so you can highlight them.
Can I move my Readwise highlights to another app?: Yes. Readwise exports highlights as a CSV, and BrainTube's Import Hub takes Readwise CSV exports along with Kindle clippings, Pocket and Instapaper exports and Markdown files.
What happened to Pocket and Omnivore?: Both shut down: Omnivore in 2024 and Pocket in 2025. Their exports can be imported into BrainTube, up to 500 links at a time.

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