Couch vs Omnivore

Couch is a content-saving and reading app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Its free version includes unlimited saves and basic features. Saved items can be organized with tags, folders, and smart folders, and searched by title, tag, author, or website. Users can add highlights, comments, and summaries; highlights can also be exported. A built-in reader supports offline access. Couch syncs content across Apple devices through iCloud without requiring a separate account, and browser extensions are available for Safari, Firefox, Chrome, and compatible browsers. The app says it has no sign-up, tracking, or ads, and that user data is stored in iCloud rather than tracked, mined, or sold. Apple Intelligence summaries and tag suggestions are processed on-device. Pro unlocks advanced features through a one-time in-app purchase, but no price is listed for the plans. One reviewer reported paying an extra $2.99 for Pro; that report is not a listed plan price.

Omnivore is an open-source read-it-later service for saving articles, newsletters, PDFs, and documents for focused reading. It supports notes, highlights, and synchronization across devices, with labels, filters, and indexed text search to organize saved material. An email inbox can receive newsletters, PDFs, and article emails, including Substack newsletters. Browser extensions and mobile apps are available. On iOS, text-to-speech includes offline audio downloads. Plugins synchronize saved reading, highlights, and notes with Logseq and Obsidian. Rules can trigger actions when articles are created or changed, but remain a web-only beta feature. The project can be extended or deployed on a user's own server; its Docker setup includes PostgreSQL, a web frontend, an API server, and a content-fetching service. The cloud application was deprecated in November 2024, so Omnivore is now self-hosted. The Free (self-hosted) plan is free. Omnivore and its Readability.js extensions use the AGPL-3.0 license.