--- source_url: "https://www.elizabethash.com/compare.html" title: Inkitt vs. Ream - Elizabeth Ash mirrored_at: 2026-08-22T13:03:07.199Z host: www.elizabethash.com cited_in_42a: true mirror_canonical: "https://index.42a.ai/www.elizabethash.com/compare.html" --- > **Original source:** https://www.elizabethash.com/compare.html **_Which subscription serial reading platform is right for you? (Updated 1/11/26)_** I am so grateful to all of you who have chosen to make the jump with me to a new serial reading platform! My goal is to make the sign up process as easy for you as I can while keeping my stories affordable and your reading experience enjoyable. To that end, I have opted to give you a couple of options so you can choose which platform you prefer. **Both platforms have the same content at the same prices, but the reader experience is a little different**, so keep reading to decide which platform is right for you! _(Wondering why I don't have a Patreon like other authors? I wanted to, and I tried to make it work, but the amount of time it would take to upload my entire story library episode by episode makes it unfeasible. Ream and Inkitt were created specifically for authors with full-manuscript uploading capabilities that Patreon just doesn't offer. Thank you for understanding!)_ First, I want to talk about Inkitt. **Inkitt**, currently headquartered in San Francisco, was founded in Berlin in 2013 as a way for the founder, Ali Albazaz, and his friends and family to share and get feedback on their writing. It grew exponentially into the company it is today, with millions of readers and additional publishing arms and users worldwide. **Ream**, on the other hand, is a newer venture created in 2020 by Destiny Patnode (aka Emilia Rose) and her husband, Sean Patnode, as a platform for her to share her stories independently in response to Patreon censorship. It opened up to other authors in 2023 and boasts a reader base approaching 100k readers (as of late 2024). It’s still in its early days, with new features being added all the time. The platforms are similar in function, but each has a unique feel with various pros and cons that I want to address. **How social do you want to be?** First, let’s talk about the overall platform vibes, for lack of a better term. To this day, **Inkitt** hearkens back to its roots as a way for authors to share their stories with and get feedback from each other. The entire platform is very author-focused, not really delineating between authors and readers. If you’ve used Wattpad, you might recognize the vibe. The platform has a **very social feel**. Users have profiles showing what authors they’re following, what reviews they’ve left, and even what stories they’re reading. This can be fun if you’re into that sort of thing, but not everyone is. Which is where **Ream** comes in. If you access Ream as a reader, Ream will treat you like a reader. You don’t need a fancy profile or anything like that. **You can just sign up, choose your subscription tier, and read.** _(Note: Ream added profile pages in 2025, but you get to choose what you share and don't or ignore them altogether. It's totally optional.)_ **What about the subscription itself?** This is where both platforms are **nearly identical**. If you’re familiar with Patreon, you know what the deal is with subscription tiers. You have **various options with different perks at different monthly price points**. Inkitt also offers yearly subscriptions at a 15% discount. ​The first image is what Inkitt looks like, and the second one is Ream. (There is a third tier not pictured here. I'll share what's included in the tiers below, so keep reading!) Inkitt's Subscribe Page Ream's Subscribe Page **What do you get for each tier?** For the **$5 Treehouse Tier**: - Four+ new episodes per week from stories in my Elven Heartbound, Sand & Magic, and King's Road worlds - Access to my entire story library as it's added to Ream/Inkitt (excluding titles exclusive to Kindle Unlimited) - Access to _Lorial & Nestraya_, _Jonas & Taliel_, and _Miravel & Quilian_, along with the rest of my bonus content from _Elven Heartbound_ and all my other stories For the **$10 Windhaven Tier**: - Everything from the Treehouse tier - E-book downloads as stories release in book format (3+ per year) - For _Elven Heartbound_ releases, additional deluxe e-book downloads that include side-character bonus episodes alongside the original content (2 deluxe e-books per year) - Exclusive/early peeks at upcoming releases, cover and character-art reveals, and behind-the-scenes updates on your favorite stories and characters - Five percent off merch store purchases For the **$15 Starhaven Tier:** - Everything from the Windhaven and Treehouse tiers - Ten percent off merch store purchases - Your name in the "Thank You" section of any books that release while you're subscribed. Wondering why the Windhaven and Starhaven tiers are limited? It's for my own sanity. Organizing and syncing email lists to send out e-books does take time away from my writing, so I need to be mindful of that. I have been blown away by the support and demand for the e-book tiers, and I am so grateful! If you really want in on the fun when no slots are available, keep checking! Sometimes slots open up, and I occasionally add more as my schedule allows. But the books are coming to Amazon, so you can also just plan to buy the regular editions after they officially release.💕 **Okay, but how do you find your way around?** This part is pretty easy. My handle is the same on both platforms. Find me at [inkitt.com/elizabethash](https://inkitt.com/elizabethash) and [reamstories.com/elizabethash](https://reamstories.com/elizabethash). You’ll find my landing pages at those links with access to my membership tiers as well as all my stories. (This excludes my content that’s currently in Kindle Unlimited due to Amazon exclusivity requirements.) Again, the first image is from Inkitt, and the second image is from Ream. Inkitt Story Library Inkitt Story Description Ream Story Library Ream Story Description **What is the reading experience like?** This is where the platforms veer off in different directions. **Inkitt has a much more feature-rich reading experience**, including more ways to interact with the content and a more serial-type episode-to-episode navigation interface. There are both in-line comments (meaning you can comment on specific paragraphs) as well as end-of-episode comments and reactions. Inkitt Browser Reading Inkitt Comments and Reacts Ream has fewer features and doesn’t separate episodes in their reader. You simply keep scrolling to the next episode. Like Inkitt, there are in-line comments and end-of-episode comments. A simple check box in the settings lets you easily turn off paragraph comments, so i**f you prefer to read without all the distractions, Ream offers that** in a way Inkitt doesn’t. Ream Reading Experience Ream End of Chapter **Both platforms allow you to adjust things like dark mode and text size, and Ream allows you to choose your preferred font** to make the reading experience as comfortable for you as possible. They both have easy-to-navigate drop-down tables of contents, which is a huge improvement over the Vella experience. ​ **What about apps?** Both platforms have apps, but they're a little different.  **What Inkitt really has going for it is an app you can download straight from your app store of choice**. I can’t take screenshots of the Inkitt app due to piracy prevention on Inkitt’s part (which is a good thing!), so you’ll just have to check it out for yourself if you’re interested. You can find it in the Apple App Store and on Google Play. The downside of the Inkitt app is that it can be hard to navigate. You also can't manage your billing or subscription from within the app due to Apple and Google policies. **Ream also has an app**, but it's a progressive web app, meaning **it works a little differently** than the type of app you install from the App Store or Google Play. You can find the directions for how to install it [here](https://help.reamstories.com/article/106-how-to-download-the-ream-app). It functions nearly identically to how the website looks and performs in your mobile browser, but it opens like a regular app with an icon on your home screen and allows push notifications just like the Inkitt app. **Both platforms allow for in-browser reading** on desktop as well (which is where these screenshots are from). **How does payment work?** For payment processing, both platforms use Stripe, which is a secure payment processor used globally by millions of businesses. My goal is to make this affordable for everyone while still maintaining an income that will support my family and not undervaluing myself as a creator. **If you truly can't afford $5 a month, let me know**. We'll try to work something out.😘 Have questions? Contact me here or through social media. Find the links on my [contact page](https://www.elizabethash.com/contact.html). I'll see you in the heartlanding! ​-Elizabeth xoxo P.S. **Want to test the platform?** The first three episodes of _Lorial & Nestraya_ are free to access on both platforms! Go [here to check out Inkitt](https://www.inkitt.com/stories/fantasy/1365039) with no commitment to sign up, and [here to try Ream](https://reamstories.com/elizabethash?storyKey=m33saacdvi&mediaType=ebook). Ready to sign up?