There’s a lot more I can say on this topic that I am currently motivated to type out. After being a faithful Pocket subscriber for years, I switched to Matter months ago and have never looked back. Well, maybe once or twice.

Among a slew of new ’read it later’ apps, Matter stands out as it’s what everyone seems to use. It’s the new hotness, and most of that is because it plugs into everything and allows you to do more with your reading. This is the only reason I am still using it, despite it ripping out all the social features I loved.

That is a little tongue in cheek, but my real worry is how exactly this is going to make money. No doubt this will be a subscription service in the not too distant future, and I expect a significantly priced one considering the development that has gone into it. This worries me because of the level of data I have invested in an app that I don’t know how much they will sting me for. In comparison to an effectively free service offered by Pocket.

The rest of the questions on comparing the apps is what you want from them. They both achieve similar things. Matter has the ability for you to add in newsletters and RSS feeds, whereas Pocket surfaces much better recommended articles. When it comes the reading itself they are both on equal footing, which just about every other competing app is.

In Short

Pocket is like a reliable pickup truck that’s getting on a bit. It’s been built for a specific job and does it very well. It’s not filled full of the latest tech, and you don’t see any upgrades coming. However, you know what you are getting. It’s reliable and will be around for years to come.

Matter is a Tesla. It’s the latest and greatest, filled full of all the toys and plugs into all sorts of extensions. You’ll need to get used to a few quirks though and learn how to use it best. The problem is: We don’t really know how long it will last and how much it’s going to cost us eventually.

There’s nothing wrong with either option, but there will be one that fits you best.