Instapaper alternatives: where to move your saved articles
The best Instapaper alternatives, what each one does better, the limits their own docs state, and how to export your Instapaper articles before you switch.
Instapaper is still running, and its free plan still saves unlimited articles, so you don't have to leave. People who look for an alternative usually want something the free plan doesn't include: full-text search, a permanent copy of every article, sending to a Kindle and more than a handful of notes are all part of Instapaper Premium, its paid plan. Others want heavier highlighting, better listening, no account at all, or a library they host themselves.
Here are the real options, what each does better than Instapaper, the limits each one states, and how to take your articles with you.
The short answer: the best Instapaper alternative for each need
- Readwise Reader if you highlight a lot. It connects straight to your Instapaper account and copies your whole library across.
- Matter if you listen to articles, or want full-text search without paying. Its free version includes search.
- GoodLinks if you are all-in on Apple and want no account and no subscription.
- Raindrop.io if your list is more a pile of links to organize than a reading queue. It imports an Instapaper export file.
- wallabag if you want a library no company can switch off. It is open source, you can run it on your own server, and it imports an Instapaper export file.
- Your browser's reading list if you save a few articles a week and never used Instapaper's extras.
- Paper if the real problem is that saved articles never get read on a screen. More on that at the end.
Before you switch, export your Instapaper library (steps below). Even if your new app imports directly, the export is your own backup.
How to export your articles from Instapaper
Instapaper's own docs describe three ways to get your data out, all on instapaper.com.
Export your whole account as a CSV file
- Sign in on the web and go to your Settings page (instapaper.com/settings/account).
- Scroll down to the Import section and click Export .CSV to email.
- Open the email from Instapaper and download the CSV file from its link.
Instapaper says the email can take a few hours to arrive if you have saved a lot of articles. This CSV file is what Raindrop.io and wallabag ask for when you import.
Download articles as PDF or ePub
Open a list (Home or a folder), click the three-dot menu at the top right of the article list, and choose PDF or ePub in the Download section. Instapaper emails you a link to the bundle. Each bundle holds the first 19 articles in the list, so this suits reading a batch on another device rather than a full backup.
Generate an RSS feed
From the same Download section, choose RSS to get a feed link for any list, and add it to an RSS reader.
The alternatives, one by one
Readwise Reader
A reading app for people who read to remember. It handles articles, PDFs, EPUBs, newsletters, RSS feeds, YouTube videos and X threads, with highlights, tags and notes on all of them, and runs on the web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and e-ink devices such as BOOX tablets.
Moving from Instapaper: in Reader's Integrations settings, click Connect next to Instapaper and sign in. Your ten most recent unarchived articles land in the Inbox, the rest of your unarchived articles in Later, and your Instapaper archive in Archive. New saves to Instapaper keep syncing to Reader after that, so you can run both for a while.
Limits: a 30-day free trial, then a paid Readwise subscription. There is no free plan.
Matter
A polished reading app for iPhone, iPad and the web, best known for text-to-speech. The free version includes an uncapped library, full-text search, unlimited tags and custom themes and fonts. Matter Premium adds HD text-to-speech, an AI Co-Reader, newsletter and RSS syncing, unlimited highlights and notes, integrations and Send to Kindle.
Limits: the HD voices and Kindle sending are Premium only, and no Android app is listed.
GoodLinks
A read-later app for iPhone, iPad and Mac with a clean reader, highlights, notes, tags, summaries and Markdown export of highlights. There is no account to create: it syncs through iCloud, and you buy it once on the App Store.
Limits: built for Apple devices only.
Raindrop.io
A bookmark manager rather than a reading app: collections, tags, highlights and apps for every major platform and browser. The free plan covers unlimited bookmarks, collections and devices. Raindrop lists Instapaper among the apps it verifies for import: export your Instapaper CSV, then upload it on Raindrop's Import page.
Limits: full-text search and permanent copies of pages are part of the paid Pro plan.
wallabag
An open-source read-it-later app that strips pages down to the article. Run it on your own server, or use the official hosted service, which has a free 14-day trial. Its docs walk through importing an Instapaper CSV under Import.
Limits: self-hosting means you handle installation, upgrades and backups; the hosted version is paid after the trial.
Safari Reading List and Chrome's reading list
Already in your browser. Safari's Reading List syncs through iCloud and can keep pages for offline reading; Chrome's sits under Bookmarks and lists. Neither takes an Instapaper import, so this is a fresh start.
Pocket, once the obvious alternative, is no longer one: Mozilla shut it down in 2025. Pocket alternatives covers what happened. For picks sorted by how you read, see The best read-it-later apps.
Quick comparison
| App | Free option | Moves your Instapaper library | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Readwise Reader | Trial only | Yes, connects directly | Highlighting, research |
| Matter | Yes | Not stated in its docs | Listening, free search |
| GoodLinks | No (one-time purchase) | Not stated | Apple, no account |
| Raindrop.io | Yes | Yes, CSV upload | Organizing links |
| wallabag | Self-hosted | Yes, CSV upload | Owning your archive |
| Browser reading lists | Yes | No | Light use |
Or read your saves on paper
Every app above is another place to keep a list on a screen. If your Instapaper queue grew because long articles never get read on a phone, a different fix is to take them off the screen. Offprint works by text: text us a link whenever you find something worth reading, and your saves become a printed magazine mailed to you. It does not import an Instapaper export, so keep your old library in one of the apps above and use it for what you save from here on. For a single article on paper today, see How to print an article without ads.
Common questions
Is Instapaper shutting down?
No. Unlike Pocket, Instapaper is still operating, with a free plan and a paid Premium plan.
Can I move my Instapaper highlights?
Instapaper describes its CSV export as covering the data for your whole account. Whether highlights and notes come across depends on the app you import into, so check its import page before you rely on it, and keep the original file.
I read on a Kobo. Should I leave Instapaper?
Think twice. Kobo eReaders connect to Instapaper directly: under More > My Articles, your Home, Liked and Archive articles sync to the device. None of the alternatives above is built into a Kobo the same way.
Which Instapaper alternative works on a Kindle?
Matter Premium and Readwise Reader can both send articles to a Kindle. Instapaper itself does too, with Premium.