Compare Loop Habits and Readwise Reader: Which App is the Best?
A free, privacy-focused habit tracker that combines powerful features with elegant simplicity. In our review, we found it offers everything needed for effective habit building without the clutter of unnecessary features or ads. | Readwise Reader is a powerful read-it-later app that consolidates web articles, newsletters, PDFs, and ebooks into one platform. With advanced highlighting, AI assistance, and seamless note-taking integrations, it's designed for serious readers who want a distraction-free, feature-rich reading experience. | |
| Key Features A summary of the most important features offered by each app. |
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| Our Rating Prod Apps's expert review score for each app, based on hands-on testing and research. | 9.3 Winner in this category | 7.6 |
| Total users Total active users across all major browsers: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari. | 0 | 0 |
| Total ratings Total number of user ratings received across all supported browsers. | 0 | 0 |
| Average rating Average user rating across all browsers, calculated from available store ratings. | — ⭐ | — ⭐ |
| Entry Level Price The minimum price required to start using the app. "Free" means a free tier is available. | Free | Free |
| Android User rating and stats for the app on Android browser. |  Downloads | Downloads |
| iOS User rating and stats for the app on iOS browser. | - |  |
| Features Prod Apps's expert score for the 'Features' aspect of each app. | 8.5 Loop offers an impressive set of core features that focus on effective habit tracking without unnecessary bloat. The standout feature is the sophisticated habit strength calculation that considers both your streaks and overall consistency. Key features we thoroughly tested include:
However, we did notice some limitations. The app lacks the ability to categorize habits into groups or folders, which can become unwieldy with many habits. There's also no way to track multiple completions of the same habit within a day, and the weekly scheduling could be more flexible. Despite these minor drawbacks, the features present are thoughtfully implemented and work reliably. We're giving it an 8.5 for features - it excels at core functionality while maintaining simplicity, though there's room for some organizational improvements. Winner in this category | 8.5 This is where Readwise Reader really shines. The features are genuinely impressive - not just marketing fluff, but stuff that actually makes reading online better. What we love:
The rough spots? Search is surprisingly bad for such a polished app. Some stuff doesn't work great on e-readers. We hit bugs that shouldn't exist in a paid app. But the core features solve real problems and do it well. Winner in this category |
| Performance Prod Apps's expert score for the 'Performance' aspect of each app. | 9.5 Throughout our testing, Loop demonstrated exceptional performance with near-instant response times and minimal resource usage. The app's efficiency is particularly impressive given its extensive tracking and visualization capabilities. Key performance aspects:
The 9.5 rating acknowledges Loop's outstanding optimization and reliability. Winner in this category | 7.0 Performance presents a tale of two experiences - the core reading functionality works smoothly and reliably, but recent updates have introduced stability issues that affect the overall user experience. The strong points are evident during daily use. Reading feels responsive with smooth scrolling and quick page navigation. Content synchronization across devices works consistently, and importing articles, PDFs, and RSS feeds processes efficiently. The basic reading, highlighting, and annotation functions that form the app's foundation operate reliably. Recent developments tell a different story though. The significant drop from a 4.3 overall rating to 3.78 for recent reviews signals genuine stability problems with newer versions. Android users report more issues than their iOS counterparts, including navigation problems and functionality regressions. Some users have experienced critical issues like being unable to add new content after updates, while others consistently note that search performance remains poor. Device compatibility also varies, with particular issues reported on e-ink devices and certain Android configurations. While active development appears to be addressing these concerns, the reliability issues prevent the app from achieving the stability users expect from a paid service. |
| Design Prod Apps's expert score for the 'Design' aspect of each app. | 9.0 Loop's Material Design implementation stands out for its thoughtful balance between aesthetics and functionality. The interface uses color purposefully to highlight important information while maintaining a clean, distraction-free environment. Design highlights:
While some might find the design austere, this intentional simplicity helps users focus on their habits. The 9.0 rating reflects excellent execution of Material Design principles with room for minor visual refinements. Winner in this category | 7.5 The design philosophy centers on creating a distraction-free reading environment, and it largely succeeds. Users consistently describe the app as "gorgeous," and the overall aesthetic genuinely supports focused reading with clean typography and thoughtful spacing. Design strengths that impressed us:
The cross-platform execution reveals some inconsistencies though. The app clearly prioritizes iOS, and this shows in the Android experience. Navigation elements don't always follow Android design conventions, and gesture interactions occasionally feel foreign to the platform. While the core reading experience remains visually appealing, the iOS-first approach creates noticeable polish differences that affect the overall experience on Android devices. |
| Value for Money Prod Apps's expert score for the 'Value for Money' aspect of each app. | 10 Loop Habit Tracker delivers exceptional value as a completely free, ad-free, and open-source application. During our testing, we were consistently impressed by the quality and completeness of features available without any monetary commitment. Value highlights:
The perfect 10.0 rating reflects Loop's outstanding commitment to providing a premium-quality habit tracker completely free of charge. Winner in this category | 7.5 The value proposition is complex and heavily depends on your reading habits and tolerance for subscription models. The subscription approach generates polarized reactions - some users find it completely worthwhile while others strongly prefer one-time purchases. For power users, the comprehensive feature set justifies the cost. AI assistance, advanced highlighting, deep integrations, and reliable infrastructure create genuine productivity benefits. The 30-day trial period (with no credit card required) provides ample time to evaluate whether the app fits your workflow, and active development means you're paying for ongoing improvements. The subscription model does create barriers though. Unlike competitors, there's no permanently free tier with basic features, and the recurring cost adds up over time. Some users feel the subscription requirement should be more prominently displayed upfront, and occasional bugs or missing features (like robust search) can impact the perceived value when you're paying monthly. For serious readers who can utilize the full feature set and don't mind subscription costs, the value proposition is solid. Casual users or those preferring one-time purchases will likely find better alternatives elsewhere. |
| Ease of Use Prod Apps's expert score for the 'Ease of Use' aspect of each app. | 9.2 Loop Habit Tracker excels in providing a straightforward, intuitive experience without sacrificing functionality. Our testing revealed an app that anyone can start using effectively within minutes. Standout usability features:
The 9.2 rating reflects the app's excellent usability, with only minor deductions for the initial learning curve of advanced features like custom schedules and the habit strength system. Winner in this category | 7.0 The usability picture is mixed - while the core reading experience feels intuitive once you're up and running, several barriers can frustrate new users during the initial setup and exploration phases. Where the app excels in usability:
The friction points become apparent early on though. The mandatory account creation before even testing the app frustrates many potential users, and Android users face additional hurdles with gesture navigation that doesn't behave as expected. The wealth of features also means there's a genuine learning curve - power users eventually find everything intuitive, but newcomers need time to discover and understand all capabilities. These initial barriers prevent the app from being truly accessible to everyone, despite its strong foundation once you're familiar with it. |
| Security & Privacy Prod Apps's expert score for the 'Security & Privacy' aspect of each app. | 9.8 Privacy is where Loop truly shines. As an open-source app with a strict privacy-first approach, it sets a high standard for data protection in habit tracking apps. Key privacy features:
The 9.8 rating acknowledges Loop's exceptional privacy practices, with the tiny deduction only because some users might want optional cloud backup. Winner in this category | 8.0 Readwise Reader handles security and privacy reasonably well for a cloud-based reading service, though the nature of the product requires some data collection and account management that privacy-conscious users should be aware of. Privacy and security strengths:
Areas of privacy consideration:
For a service that fundamentally requires cloud sync and AI processing, Readwise Reader handles privacy appropriately. However, users seeking maximum privacy might prefer local-only solutions. We rate security and privacy at 8.0 out of 10. |
| Conclusion A summary of our findings and final thoughts for each app. | Loop Habit Tracker proves that simplicity and power can coexist perfectly in a habit tracking app. Its thoughtful design and robust feature set create an experience that's both sophisticated and accessible to everyone. The app's commitment to user privacy and freedom sets it apart - being completely free, open-source, and offline-first. The distraction-free interface and reliable performance make it a pleasure to use daily, while comprehensive analytics keep you motivated. While there's room for improvements in areas like habit categorization and cloud sync, the core functionality is exceptional. With an average rating of 9.3 across our review categories, Loop stands out as a premium-quality app that puts users first. For anyone seeking a reliable, privacy-focused habit tracker that emphasizes substance over flash, Loop Habit Tracker is our top recommendation. | After weeks of actually using Readwise Reader, we're impressed. It's not perfect, but it genuinely solves the "reading stuff scattered everywhere" problem that drives us crazy. The highlighting works great, the AI assistant is actually useful (shocking!), and having everything sync to your notes automatically is pretty amazing. The downsides are real though. The subscription model will annoy people, you can't try it without making an account first, and if you're on Android, it's going to feel a bit clunky. Plus, for a paid app, it crashes more than we'd like. But here's the thing - if you read a lot online and you're tired of managing content across multiple apps, this might change how you work. The 30-day trial is long enough to really test it out. Just don't expect perfection, expect a really good tool that keeps getting better. |
| Our Recommendation | ||
