Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Matter vs Apple Books

Matter 4.6★ · Free + IAP 75
Winner Matter
Apple Books 4.4★ · Free to download 60

Matter is better for users who want advanced reading features and content aggregation, while Apple Books is better for those who primarily read ebooks and audiobooks from a digital storefront.

Full reviews: Matter · Apple Books

Matter offers a feature-rich experience for aggregating articles, newsletters, and RSS feeds with advanced text-to-speech and a clean interface, though it comes with a premium price tag and inconsistent support. Apple Books serves as a convenient platform for purchasing and reading ebooks and audiobooks, but users frequently complain about file management issues and high book prices.

Head to head

Features edge: MatterR2R5R11R23
Matter Matter users praise its ability to redirect newsletters, save and highlight articles, and its natural-sounding AI readers R2R5R11. It's also valued for aggregating articles from multiple sources and providing text-to-voice playback R11. Some users appreciate the Discover tab and the ability to follow writers/publications R23.
Apple Books Apple Books allows users to import their own DRM-free books, including PDFs, and sync highlights and annotations R53R95. It offers customisable settings for a comfortable reading experience and a wide selection of books, including free options and offers . However, some users wish for more advanced features like text translation or better note-taking options for bookmarks .
Ease of Use edge: MatterR3R5R10R17
Matter Matter is described as having a beautiful and clean interface R17. Saving articles via the share sheet or browser extensions is simple R5. However, some users report difficulty getting PDFs or text emails into the app, and the browser extension sometimes only creates a link instead of pulling the article R3R10. There are also complaints about formatting issues with downloaded webpages R10.
Apple Books Apple Books is generally considered convenient for reading on devices like the iPad R58. Importing epubs is seamless R83. However, users find the library organization limited and difficult to navigate, especially with samples, wish lists, and purchased books mixed together . Some experience issues with highlights shifting or needing to redownload books .
Reliability edge: MatterR1R3R10R11
Matter Matter's reliability is mixed. While some find saving articles works great, even with paywalled content R11, others report that the app sometimes fails to scrape articles R1. Issues include emails not showing up, the browser extension only creating links, and PDFs not working R3R10. Some users have experienced transcription services no longer working or losing all their data after an update .
Apple Books Apple Books has significant reliability issues, with multiple users reporting that the app deleted all their downloaded files and documents, especially those not purchased from Apple . Other complaints include the search facility being unusable for PDFs after updates , highlights shifting , and books needing to be redownloaded repeatedly .
Price/Value tieR1R7R8R27
Matter Matter is a paid subscription app, with prices around $14.99/month or $79.99/year R27R36. Many users feel the cost is too high, especially for features like AI that they may not use R8. Some users are frustrated by misleading free trial offers that don't provide full functionality or lead to unexpected charges R1R7R28R30.
Apple Books Apple Books is free to download, but most books and audiobooks require purchase R60. Users frequently complain about the high cost of books, stating that Kindle is cheaper R58R60R65R85. While there are free books and offers , some users wish for more free or kid-friendly options . There are also complaints about ads for recommended books appearing in the purchased library .
Support edge: Apple BooksR4R6R9R13
Matter Matter's support receives significant criticism. Users report opening multiple tickets without a response for weeks R6, not receiving email confirmations R4, and being ignored after updates removed key features R13. Some users claim they only received a response after writing a bad review R9. There are also instances of subscription issues where the app doesn't recognize payment .
Apple Books Apple Books reviews do not frequently mention direct customer support interactions. The issues raised are primarily about app functionality, file management, and pricing, which are typically addressed through app updates or self-service. The lack of specific support complaints could indicate either effective self-service or a lack of direct support channels.
Pick Matter if

you are a heavy reader of articles, newsletters, and RSS feeds who values advanced features like text-to-speech, content aggregation, and a clean reading interface, and are willing to pay a premium subscription for these capabilities.

Pick Apple Books if

you primarily read ebooks and audiobooks, prefer purchasing content from a digital storefront, and value the convenience of syncing your library across Apple devices, provided you are aware of potential file management issues and book costs.

Evidence note: Matter's support dimension is heavily skewed by negative reviews, while Apple Books has very few direct comments on support, making a direct comparison difficult. Apple Books' pricing complaints are about individual book purchases, not a subscription to the app itself.

Frequently asked

Does Matter offer a free version?
Matter is primarily a paid service, offering a 7-day free trial, but many users report that the trial is limited or leads to unexpected charges, with subscription costs around $14.99/month or $79.99/year R27R28R30R36.
Can I import my own books into Apple Books?
Yes, Apple Books allows you to import your own DRM-free ebooks and PDFs into your library and sync them across your devices R53R83R95.
Are books expensive on Apple Books?
Many users find books and audiobooks on Apple Books to be expensive, with some comparing prices unfavorably to other platforms like Kindle R58R60R65R85.
Does Matter have good customer support?
Matter's customer support is frequently criticized by users for being unresponsive, with reports of tickets going unanswered for weeks and issues like email confirmations not arriving R4R6R9R13.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 100 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R2] Matter 5/5 · US Essential: I’m a longtime read-later app user, from Feedly to Reeder to Instapaper and beyond. I’ve been using matter since it launched a few years ago, and it’s surpassed them all. I love its ability to redirect newletters so my mailbox stays clean. It allows me to save, favorite, and highlight my favorite articles and newsletters. Its AI “readers” are the most natural and “listenable” I’ve exper
  2. [R5] Matter 5/5 · US Simple, powerful, reading queue: Matter comes to fill the gap after Pocket closed down, and I love its simplicity and useful features. Finding things to read in the discover or related articles section is nice. You can also add newsletters or rss feeds. Adding things to read later is simple as using the share sheet anywhere on iOS or via browser extensions for other devices. With premium you get
  3. [R11] Matter 5/5 · US Best way to convert content to audio: Great product that allows me to save news articles from multiple sources, and provide text to voice playback from a saved queue. Saving works great with paywalled articles, but the caveat is that if you are on ios, the paywalled article must be brought up in Safari to allow the full article to have text to voice playback. For desktop systems, the Chrome exte
  4. [R23] Matter 4/5 · US Does the job: Solid and customizable reader, appreciate the Discover tab and being able to follow writers/publications. Support for any and all RSS feeds so I don’t have to rely on newsletter workarounds would be appreciated.
  5. [R3] Matter 3/5 · US Great concept, mediocre execution: I love the concept of the app, but it falls far short of being your go-to reading app. It’s very difficult to get PDFs or text emails into the app. Sometimes the emails are in your queue quickly, and sometimes they don’t show up at all. The browser extension sometimes pulls in the article, and sometimes it only creates a browser link, which is no better than a
  6. [R10] Matter 1/5 · US Tried matter, but the app is a waste of time.: It downloads most webpages fine, but the way it formats them is sometimes obnoxious and counterintuitive. I looked past it because they claim in multiple places the app can download PDFs and easily convert them for reading with all the features they advertise. I tried 4 PDFs and only one worked. I tried going premium (used the free trial) and same pro
  7. [R17] Matter 5/5 · US Best read later app: I’ve tried several different apps but Matter is the prettiest and best interface. I just always go back to Matter.
  8. [R1] Matter 1/5 · US Better Than Instapaper, Not: Hi folks, I can’t recommend this app. Downloaded it got a very slick email from the CEO extolling its wonderful virtues. Then a very clever way to upgrade a pro trial. Well, their trial didn’t work so well. And Matter didn’t perform any better than Instapaper frequently coming up with a pathetic excuse that it couldn’t scrape articles from Apple News. Overpriced and
  9. [R7] Matter 1/5 · US Beware Predatory Subscription Tactics: App is okay, however, upon opening it, I was confronted with a subscription offer that promised a trial. Unfortunately, I did not receive a trial, and $14.99 was deducted from my account. Within 5 minutes, I attempted to request a refund from Apple, I was informed that it was not eligible. I cannot endorse any application that conducts business in this manner
  10. [R8] Matter 4/5 · US Pretty good, missing a few things: A widget for unread articles would be a game changer, or the option to buy once. I just can’t justify paying monthly.
  11. [R27] Matter 3/5 · US There is no free plan: After the 7-day free trial the options are: $79.99/year $14.99/month It’s a pretty ok app, but I don’t like the lack of transparency or documentation.
  12. [R4] Matter 2/5 · US Can use with only one device: I tried to get it in mt phone. But my email confirmation never arrives. I wrote the company - check spam/junk, which I of course had done. No other help available I gave up and deleted it. After several emails back and forth, they never did anything with the information I gave them April Update I thought I’d give them another chance. Still no email confirmation rec
  13. [R6] Matter 3/5 · US Good App, Bad Support: I like what this app has to offer, but I don’t have anything nice to say about the support. I’ve opened multiple tickets with the support team via the Slack channel available via the app and I’ve heard nothing in weeks.
  14. [R9] Matter 3/5 · US Let down by unresponsive Customer Support (update): They finally responded. It seems you need to write a bad review for the to pay attention which is a shame. New version is nice, and Matter is probably still the best app to organize your reading, but some key features have gone for no good reason (they confirmed it). A good example is the ability for bulk delete both in your inbox and archive.
  15. [R13] Matter 1/5 · US Used to Love…: I used this app to aggregate articles into a single file to send to my Kindle. Other apps allow single article send and it is very messy. I was enjoying the app; then the update happened. I lost the ability to do the only thing I used the app for. I contacted the company several times but never received a reply. I have Readwise, which is incredibly responsive. Rating a 1 because I c
  16. [R28] Matter 1/5 · US Description is a lie: “Matter offers a free service and a paid service.” No, only a paid service.
  17. [R30] Matter 1/5 · US False: The 7 day trial doesn’t let you do anything but watch the preloaded video, so you can’t truly see what the app really does. So don’t even offer the trial. Disappointed.
  18. [R36] Matter 1/5 · US No free option, $80 read it later app: Really annoyed by these psychological and statistically optimal onboarding procedures that ask you a million questions and make you create an account before they reveal that there is only a limited 7 day trial before you’re paying. I’m so over wasting my time with these apps that are so confident in themselves that they think there’s no way you’re not going t
  19. [R53] Apple Books 3/5 · GB Not for a personal library of comics and manga: This isn’t about the store or the variety or shop layout, I love that I can import my own DRM free books into my library and sync them and their highlights and annotations to my Apple account, that’s really nice. What makes this unusable is that epub comic files are unreadable. The whole page is treated as an image (which is fair) but to full screen
  20. [R83] Apple Books 5/5 · GB Idk: It’s good, u can add epubs you get from anywhere and buying books is seamless and fairly priced.
  21. [R95] Apple Books 5/5 · GB PDFs: I love importing my pdfs and reading for hours if you haven’t downloaded this app yet get it now
  22. [R58] Apple Books 4/5 · GB Great bar 1 problem: Apple Books is a very convenient way for me to read via my iPad and is able to work almost anywhere. The only thing I have against it is that it doesn’t really have as much options as Kindle or FlipHTML5 and it seems like Kindle is cheaper I have noticed. But awesome in general.
  23. [R60] Apple Books 1/5 · GB The books cost to much: The books are to expensive 💰I’m a 20 year old person trying so hard just too pay for my supper so these books are so expensive
  24. [R65] Apple Books 3/5 · GB Great excerpt from the expenses: I love this app but will more if the books where free Since the books are not free there is less choices of books to pick
  25. [R85] Apple Books 4/5 · GB It’s really good just a bit expensive: This app works really well for me the only thing is when you get an audiobook it costs like three pounds but when you buy an actual book that you can read online it regularly costs almost eight pounds.

Synthesized from 100 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store