Lantern and
Instapaper.

Where they agree

Both believe a read later app should be a reading app. Both strip the page down to the article. Both have a free tier that is actually usable rather than a countdown to an upsell. Neither is trying to become a knowledge management system. If you are happy on Instapaper, that is a completely reasonable place to be and there is no crisis here to rescue you from.

Where they differ

• The look. Instapaper is neutral by design, a white page and a serif. Lantern commits to a warm cream ground, one display face and one reading face, and an amber accent. That is a taste decision, not a better one, and it is the main reason to prefer either.
• The screen it assumes. Lantern is built around reflective and e-paper displays as a first-class case, not an afterthought. If you read on a Daylight DC1 or similar, that shows.
• Maturity. Instapaper has years of features Lantern does not: highlights, notes, speed reading, Kobo and Kindle sending, a browser extension, native mobile apps, full text search across everything, and import. Lantern is new and honest about it.
• Shape. Instapaper is native apps plus a web version. Lantern is a web app, so there is nothing to install and every device gets the same thing.
• Price. Both have a free tier. Instapaper sells a premium tier on top; Lantern currently has nothing to sell.

How to choose

Stay on Instapaper if you rely on its highlights, its send to Kindle or Kobo, or its native apps. Those are real features and Lantern does not have them yet.

Try Lantern if the reading page itself is what you care about and you want one that feels warmer, or if you read on a screen that a bright white page fights with. Both are free, so this is not a decision that needs defending.

Related: Lantern compared with Readwise Reader.