ReadKinetic
Speed reader in Productivity & writing
A free, local-first speed reader that people praise for its polished usability and natural pacing at sentence ends and commas. Critics say the images and graphs are weak and the instructions are hard to find.
A free, local-first speed reader that people praise for its polished usability and natural pacing at sentence ends and commas. Critics say the images and graphs are weak and the instructions are hard to find.
20 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 18
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 90%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 18 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 9 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Polished usability and attention to detail
“Very nice implemenation re usability.”
Comment from 22 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: ReadKinetic – a free, local-first speed reader for your own books” “Very nice app, I like it so far.”
Comment from 22 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: ReadKinetic – a free, local-first speed reader for your own books” “Love that attention to detail.”
Comment from 22 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: ReadKinetic – a free, local-first speed reader for your own books” - Comment from 22 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: ReadKinetic – a free, local-first speed reader for your own books”
- Comment from 22 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: ReadKinetic – a free, local-first speed reader for your own books”
Pacing that mirrors natural reading
“It lingers three times longer at the end of sentences and twice as long at commas, specifically because a consistent, flat pace feels like reading a script rather than actual prose.”
Comment from 22 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: ReadKinetic – a free, local-first speed reader for your own books” “I like how it pauses near where I would normally pause while reading”
Comment from 22 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: ReadKinetic – a free, local-first speed reader for your own books”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Tiny instructions, poor discoverability
“One small annoyance with your app is the instructions in the welcome were tiny.”
Comment from 22 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: ReadKinetic – a free, local-first speed reader for your own books” “But if you didn’t find it, that’s on me because it’s not discoverable.”
Comment from 22 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: ReadKinetic – a free, local-first speed reader for your own books”
What people said
20 of the 26 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I want this on my kindle!”
“One small annoyance with your app is the instructions in the welcome were tiny.”
“It lingers three times longer at the end of sentences and twice as long at commas, specifically because a consistent, flat pace feels like reading a script rather than actual prose.”
“The scrubbing feature is neat.”
“Beyond that, it's pretty cool though so far.”
“There seems to be no way of changing the WPM setting after startup.”
“I expected a single tap to take me out of the auto mode.”
“Very nice app, I like it so far.”
“Very nice implemenation re usability.”
“Love that attention to detail.”
“This is a great experience.”
“I don't feel like I understand quite as well what I have just read”
“But if you didn’t find it, that’s on me because it’s not discoverable.”
“But great work! Will try on a longer text.”
“Great idea, great execution!”
“The main thing that was the difference maker was separating storage into two IndexedDB stores”
“Nice idea. I like the local-first approach.”
“the images and graphs are the weak spot at the moment”
“it personally doesn't work for me”
“I like how it pauses near where I would normally pause while reading”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.