Do I have to cancel Readwise?

No. The token sync keeps pulling new highlights, so you can run both.

Is my Readwise token safe?

It is stored for the sync only and you can disconnect at any time from the Readwise integration page.

Yes, export to Markdown or Anki cards from Settings at any time, or the whole corpus through MCP.

Is there a free plan?

Yes, no card required. Starter and Pro come with a 14-day trial.

Switch from Readwise

Your highlights, next to everything you watched.

Readwise is built for reading. If most of what you learn now comes from YouTube and podcasts, BrainTube keeps your highlights and your videos in one library you can ask questions of, from BrainTube's chat or from Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor.

By Ilian Raykov, founder of BrainTube

Readwise facts as of 11 November 2026, from readwise.io/pricing and docs.readwise.io.

Bring your highlights

Connect Readwise: paste your Readwise access token on the Readwise integration page in the app, and BrainTube pulls your highlights in and keeps syncing them.
Or upload a CSV: export your highlights from Readwise as CSV, then Import → Readwise.
Kindle without Readwise: upload your My Clippings.txt with Import → Kindle.

What changes when you switch

Video firstA video citation opens at the moment it came from.
Ask about a talk you saved and the answer points to the timestamp.
Feeds that fill themselvesSync your YouTube playlists and Liked videos, follow channels and RSS feeds.
New items arrive without a click.
Your AI toolsClaude, ChatGPT, Cursor and other MCP clients can search your library and save new things into it.
On every plan, Free included.

Side by side (as of 11 November 2026)

	Readwise	BrainTube
Price	Full Readwise $12.99/mo, or $9.99/mo billed yearly; Reader only or Highlights only $8.99/mo ($7.99 billed yearly)	Free plan; Starter $9/mo; Pro $19/mo
Free plan	30-day free trial	Free forever, no card
AI assistants (MCP)	Official MCP server for highlights and Reader documents	Read and write MCP on every plan
YouTube	Save and read videos in Reader	Transcribed and indexed, answers cite the timestamp; playlist sync and channel follow
Export	Highlights export (not on Highlights Lite)	Markdown or Anki cards, any time

Where Readwise is still better

I build BrainTube, so weigh this with that in mind. Readwise has a far deeper reading app: Reader handles articles, PDFs, EPUBs, newsletters and X threads, it imports highlights from Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo and 40+ sources, and Daily Review emails your highlights back to you. Its own MCP server already lets Claude and ChatGPT read your highlights. If you mostly read, keep Readwise; plenty of people connect it to BrainTube and keep both.

Move in 3 steps

Copy your access token from readwise.io/access_token (or export highlights as CSV).
In BrainTube, connect Readwise or upload the CSV with Import → Readwise.
Ask a question across your highlights and your videos.

Frequently asked

Do I have to cancel Readwise?: No. The token sync keeps pulling new highlights, so you can run both.
Is my Readwise token safe?: It is stored for the sync only and you can disconnect at any time from the Readwise integration page.
Can I leave later?: Yes, export to Markdown or Anki cards from Settings at any time, or the whole corpus through MCP.
Is there a free plan?: Yes, no card required. Starter and Pro come with a 14-day trial.

Bring your highlights

Pro: $19 a month with a 14-day free trial. Or start on the free plan, no card.

Start Pro trial Compare plans