Free picks · iPhone
Best free reading apps for iPhone (2026)
Every pick is listed under Reading in our directory, runs on iPhone and iPad and is completely free or has a free plan. We rank them by our rating and popularity, then favour tools made mainly for reading and apps built for iPhone.
Short answer
The best free reading apps for iPhone are Libby, Matter and NetNewsWire, the top three of 15 matches in our directory. 4 of the 10 picks are completely free and the other 6 have a free plan; 3 are open source.
Updated
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At a glance
Counted from the top 10 picks, except the total.
- Matching tools
- 15
- Completely free
- 4
- Open source
- 3
- Work offline
- 4
- Native apps
- 3
Comparison table
“Free plan” means a free tier with paid upgrades. A dash in Licence means our directory does not list the tool as open source.
| # | Name | Pricing | Platforms | Licence | Why pick it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Libby | Free | iOS, Android, Web | — | Borrow ebooks and audiobooks free from your local library. |
| 2 | Matter | Free | iOS, Android, Web | — | A powerful read-it-later app for curious minds. |
| 3 | NetNewsWire | Free | macOS, iOS | Open source | A free, open-source RSS reader for Mac, iPhone and iPad. |
| 4 | Feedly | Free plan | Web, iOS, Android | — | Follow blogs, news sites and newsletters in one organised feed. |
| 5 | Inoreader | Free plan | Web, iOS, Android | — | An RSS reader for following blogs, news, newsletters and podcasts in one place. |
| 6 | Instapaper | Free plan | Web, iOS, Android, Chrome, Firefox, Safari | — | A long-running read-later app that saves unlimited articles for free. |
| 7 | Karakeep | Free plan | Web, iOS, Android, Chrome, Firefox, Safari | Open source | An open-source bookmark and read-later app with AI tagging and highlights. |
| 8 | Readest | Free | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Web | Open source | A modern ebook reader with synced notes across all your devices. |
| 9 | Hardcover | Free plan | Web, iOS, Android | — | An independent book tracker for logging, rating and discovering books. |
| 10 | Pocket Casts | Free plan | iOS, Android, Web | — | A podcast player that is free on mobile and on the web. |
Why each pick made the list
Every reason is taken from the tool's own listing: its categories, platforms, features, rating and pricing.
Our top iPhone pick, rated 4.8/5, the highest here. Made mainly for reading, one of 9 such picks here. A mobile app that runs on iPhone and iPad, and also on Android and Web. Its listing says it works offline (4 of 10 here), syncs through the cloud (9 of 10 here) and is easy to pick up (8 of 10 here). It is not in the Web top 10 (13th for Web).
Watch out for: Popular titles often have waiting lists
Number 2 of 10 for iPhone, rated 4.7/5. Made mainly for reading, one of 9 such picks here. A mobile app that runs on iPhone and iPad, and also on Android and Web. Its listing says it syncs through the cloud (9 of 10 here), has AI features (3 of 10 here) and is easy to pick up (8 of 10 here). It is not in the Web top 10 (14th for Web).
Watch out for: Discovery features can sometimes be overwhelming.
Number 3 of 10 for iPhone, rated 4.7/5. Made mainly for reading, one of 9 such picks here. Runs on iPhone and iPad, and also on macOS. Its listing says it works offline (4 of 10 here), syncs through the cloud (9 of 10 here) and is privacy-focused (2 of 10 here). It is not in the Web top 10 (not listed for the web).
Watch out for: Apple devices only
Number 4 of 10 for iPhone, rated 4.5/5. Made mainly for reading, one of 9 such picks here. Runs on iPhone and iPad, and also on Web and Android. Its listing says it syncs through the cloud (9 of 10 here), has AI features (3 of 10 here) and is easy to pick up (8 of 10 here). On our Web list it is number 6.
Watch out for: Free plan allows only three folders
Number 5 of 10 for iPhone, rated 4.6/5. Made mainly for reading, one of 9 such picks here. Runs on iPhone and iPad, and also on Web and Android. Its listing says it syncs through the cloud (9 of 10 here). On our Web list it is number 8.
Watch out for: Free plan caps feeds and shows ads
Number 6 of 10 for iPhone, rated 4.4/5. Made mainly for reading, one of 9 such picks here. Runs on iPhone and iPad, and also on Web, Android, Chrome, Firefox and 1 more platform. Its listing says it works offline (4 of 10 here), syncs through the cloud (9 of 10 here) and is easy to pick up (8 of 10 here). It is not in the Web top 10 (11th for Web).
Watch out for: Free plan limits notes to 5 a month
Number 7 of 10 for iPhone, rated 4.5/5. Made mainly for reading, one of 9 such picks here. Runs on iPhone and iPad, and also on Web, Android, Chrome, Firefox and 1 more platform. Its listing says it is privacy-focused (2 of 10 here) and has AI features (3 of 10 here). It is not in the Web top 10 (15th for Web).
Watch out for: Self-hosting needs Docker and a server
Number 8 of 10 for iPhone, rated 4.6/5. Made mainly for reading, one of 9 such picks here. Runs on iPhone and iPad, and also on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and 1 more platform. Its listing says it works offline (4 of 10 here), syncs through the cloud (9 of 10 here) and is easy to pick up (8 of 10 here). It is not in the Web top 10 (33rd for Web).
Watch out for: Does not open DRM-protected books
Number 9 of 10 for iPhone, rated 4.6/5. Made mainly for reading, one of 9 such picks here. Runs on iPhone and iPad, and also on Web and Android. Its listing says it syncs through the cloud (9 of 10 here) and is easy to pick up (8 of 10 here). It is not in the Web top 10 (28th for Web).
Watch out for: Smaller community than Goodreads
Number 10 of 10 for iPhone, rated 4.6/5. Made mainly for learning, it is the only pick here that covers reading as a second use. A mobile app that runs on iPhone and iPad, and also on Android and Web. Its listing says it syncs through the cloud (9 of 10 here) and is easy to pick up (8 of 10 here). It is not in the Web top 10 (49th for Web).
Watch out for: Folders and bookmarks need Plus
Running these on iPhone
Counted from each pick's listing type and platforms.
- By listing type, the 10 iPhone picks are 5 web apps (Feedly, Inoreader, Instapaper, Karakeep and 1 other), 3 mobile apps (Libby, Matter and Pocket Casts) and 2 desktop apps (NetNewsWire and Readest).
- 3 of 10 are apps you install on iPhone and iPad; the other 7 are web or cloud tools listed for iPhone.
- Every iPhone pick here also runs somewhere else. Instapaper reaches furthest, on 5 other platforms besides iPhone.
- 2 of 10 also run on a Mac, so the same tool can follow you between iPhone and Mac; Libby, Matter, Feedly, Inoreader and 4 others do not.
How this list compares
The same search on other platforms. Only the differences are named.
- Free online reading tools
2 of these 10 iPhone picks also make the Web top 10. 8 are on this list only: Libby (13th for Web), Matter (14th for Web), NetNewsWire (not listed for the web), Instapaper (11th for Web), Karakeep (15th for Web), Readest (33rd for Web) and 2 more. In their place the Web list has Glance, FreshRSS, LibriVox, The Public Domain Review, arXiv, Google Scholar and 2 others; none of them is listed for iPhone.
More matches
5 more free reading apps for iPhone in our directory, in ranked order.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best free reading app for iPhone?
- Libby is our first pick. Borrow ebooks and audiobooks free from your local library. Yes. Libby is free to use.
- Are these reading apps really free?
- Yes, every pick is free to start. Libby, Matter, NetNewsWire and Readest are completely free. Feedly, Inoreader, Instapaper, Karakeep and 2 others have free plans with paid upgrades.
- Which of these reading apps are open source?
- NetNewsWire, Karakeep and Readest are tagged open source in our directory, so you can read the code of each and, depending on the licence, self-host or modify it.
- Which ones work offline on iPhone and iPad?
- Libby, NetNewsWire, Instapaper and Readest are listed as working offline. The others need an internet connection for at least some features.
- Which are easiest for beginners?
- Libby, Matter and NetNewsWire are rated beginner-friendly, along with 5 other picks. 2 picks take more time to learn.
- How many free reading apps for iPhone are in the directory?
- 15 match: listed under Reading, available on iPhone and iPad and free to start. This page ranks the top 10 and names up to 20 more under More matches. The Reading category page has every listing, paid ones included.
Keep exploring
Wider lists
Related free lists
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- Free note-taking apps for iPhone
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- Free calendar apps for iPhone
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- Free time management apps for iPhone
- Free writing apps for iPhone
- Free AI productivity tools for iPhone
- Free learning apps for iPhone
- Free email apps for iPhone
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