Best Reading Mode Extensions Compared for 2026

Reading modes turn a cluttered article into clean text. Chrome has one built in now, so an extension is only worth adding if it does something Chrome's doesn't. Here's how the options compare.

Chrome's built-in Reading mode

Right-click a page and choose Open in reading mode, or open it from the side panel.

• Pros: free, private, nothing to install. Choose font, size, spacing and colors. Read aloud highlights words as it reads.
• Cons: it opens beside the page in the side panel rather than replacing it, and it can't save articles for later.

Reader extensions

• Reader View extensions, built on the same open-source code as Firefox's reader, replace the page with a clean article and offer themes and text-to-speech.
• Just Read adds custom styles and lets you remove extra parts of the page by clicking them.

Both work best on news and blog articles. On pages that aren't articles, such as forums or product pages, reader modes may miss content.

Other browsers' readers

Firefox's Reader View, Safari's Reader and Microsoft Edge's Immersive Reader are all built in and good. Edge's Immersive Reader adds line focus and grammar tools, and is worth a look if you also use Edge.

Read-later apps

If you want to save articles and read them later in a clean view, a read-later app does both. Mozilla shut Pocket down in July 2025, so its users moved to apps such as Instapaper and Readwise Reader, which have Chrome extensions to save pages.

Focus tools

A reader mode cleans up the page, but the text is still one long block. If you lose your place or get distracted halfway down:

• ADHD Reading Focus shows one paragraph at a time on the original page, moved with the arrow keys, with adjustable text size, and it remembers where you stopped.
• Reading Progress Bar shows how far through a page you are.

Which to choose

• Occasional clean reading: Chrome's Reading mode.
• A full-page reader with themes: a Reader View extension.
• Saving articles across devices: a read-later app.
• Staying focused on long pages: a focus tool, alone or with a reader.

For readers with ADHD, see how reader modes compare for ADHD.