Instapaper alternative
An Instapaper alternative for your ears
Instapaper is a very good reader. Bookmark.fm isn't a reader at all — it turns the same saved links into podcast episodes you finish on the move.
Pick the tool that matches your bottleneck
If your bottleneck is reading comfort — typography, highlights, notes to revisit — a dedicated reader is the right tool and you should keep it. If your bottleneck is that the queue never gets touched because sitting down to read never happens, no amount of typography will fix that. Bookmark.fm is built for the second problem.
How it works
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1
Save a link
Paste a URL, click the bookmarklet in your browser toolbar, or post it to the API.
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2
We write and voice the episode
Bookmark.fm reads the page, scripts a host-and-expert conversation about it, and records both voices.
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3
Listen wherever you listen
The episode lands in your private podcast feed, ready in your usual app within minutes.
What's different
- A conversation, not a narration
- Rather than reading the article aloud, Bookmark.fm scripts a host-and-expert discussion of it. Shorter than the original, and easier to follow without a screen.
- Delivered by RSS
- Your saves become a private podcast feed. No separate app to open and no list to face.
- Hands-off by default
- Saving is the only action you take. Classification, scripting, voicing and publishing all happen on their own.
- Transcripts stay available
- Every episode keeps its written transcript and the original link, so reading is still an option when you want it.
What you get
Save the way you already do
Paste a URL, click the bookmarklet, or send links from your own scripts through the API.
Two distinct voices
A host and an expert, each with their own voice, so you can follow the thread while doing something else.
Automatic topics
Episodes are categorised on the way in, which makes a long library easy to browse later.
Works with any podcast app
Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Antennapod — anything that accepts a feed URL.
Frequently asked questions
Do I get highlights and notes?
No. There's no annotation layer. If highlighting is central to how you read, keep a reader for that and use Bookmark.fm for the links you'd rather listen to.
Is the audio the full article?
It covers the substance of the article as a conversation, not word for word. Expect something shorter and more digestible than the source.
Can I use both tools together?
Plenty of people do — read the pieces you want to study, and send the rest here to listen to.
What about paywalled articles?
Bookmark.fm can only fetch publicly accessible pages, so subscriber-only articles won't process.
Start listening to your reading list
Save your first link and have an episode waiting in minutes.