Free Reading Apps 2021
Free reading apps for researchers. This guide is maintained by Avidnote. It’s a web-based app that helps researchers write & organize their research notes effectively online. Click here to learn more.
| Name | Description | Type | Research specific? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avidnote | Read research papers side-by-side with your notes. Create reading lists using tags. | Web app - no download needed | Yes, including article retrieval and reference management. Focuses on research paper annotation. |
| Bookmark sidebar | Manage all of your booksmarks using an expandable sidebar. | Chrome extention | No specific features for academic writing. |
| Descript | Automatically transcribes your audio interviews with AI. Saves time when transcribing, and all researchers who interview know how much we hate to transcribe! Free version has limit on how many hours you can transcribe. | Desktop | No specific features for academic writing. |
| Google Dictionary | Double click on a word to see what it means. | Chrome extention | No specific features for academic writing. |
| Google Translate Extension | Translate from one language to another. Use the chrome extention to highlight text and get instant translations. | Web, Chrome extention | No specific features for academic writing. |
| Notion | Create reading lists connected with your notes. | Web, mobile, desktop | No specific features for academic writing. |
| oTranscribe | A free tool to help you transcribe. Unlike Descript, it won't transcribe automatically, but it helps you change the speed of the audio file, and use shortkeys to skip back a few seconds. | Web app - no download needed | No specific features for academic writing. |
| Paperly | A paper reader that you can dowload to your desktop. | Desktop, Chrome extention | Yes, focuses on reading research papers |
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