Best RSS Readers and News Aggregators
A few days ago, I asked you to list your favorite news aggregator apps . We got a ton of responses, but it was pretty clear which apps would be our top recommendations in the first batch of comments. Without further ado, here are the best RSS readers / news aggregators, as well as a few alternatives to score well.
Best of Feedly
Feedly has received the most comments and votes from readers, unsurprisingly – it is one of the few RSS readers with a modern design and active support. It is also full of features. As I said in a previous post:
Its timeline, flexible search and organization tools, and cross-platform syncing are all great, and have helped me move away from Twitter for news – and pretty much everything else. Since it is an RSS reader, Feedly can even be used to track YouTube and podcast subscriptions, blogs, and even in some cases newsletters. Yes, both web and mobile have built-in dark themes.
Those of you who voted for Feedly commented on its ease of use, customizable interface, and helpful information gathering tools, and this only applies to the free version of Feedly. The Pro version is also available for $ 5.91 a month, which adds even more customization options, lets you track unlimited sources, and gives users more granular searches and tracking options like alerts for specific keywords.
There is also a “team” version that gives users the ability to create “whiteboards” that multiple users can access and edit, plus integration with apps like Slack, Microsoft Teams and others. It’s worth noting that the free version supports ads, but it’s mostly unobtrusive and kept to a minimum. (There are no ads in Feedly Pro and Team.)
Even with ads, the free version of Feedly is hard to beat. However, some readers noted that they were uncomfortable to use, and others said that they did not like the layout options. I’ll admit that I needed to change some of the ribbon display options before I was fully comfortable with it, but once my preferences were locked out, I didn’t look back.
If you’re having trouble accessing Feedly, our runner-up pick is worth your consideration.
Second place: Inoreader
Inoreader took second place, and if you spend a cursory search on the Internet, you will find a lot of debate about whether or Inoreader Feedly best product. In my opinion, both options are great choices and you will have a great RSS reader and news aggregator solution whichever service you choose.
The ad-supported free versions of both services are mostly identical, although Inoreader allows you to use up to 150 sources, compared to Feedly’s 100. Inoreader’s user interface is quite similar to Feedly – their dark themes are nearly identical, although Inoreader’s layout is more compact and faster to navigate. Inoreader also has a built-in podcast player that will play audio in the background while you read your feed.
While the basic service is completely free, Inoreader has paid options as well. Users can block ads and track up to 500 sources for $ 20 per year (about $ 1.67 per month), but for better features like offline mode, unlimited news sources, channel automation, and robust search / tracking features, you’ll have to pay 50 dollars a year. Interestingly, Inoreader also allows users to select advanced features from the menu.
Rest
The vast majority of Lifehacker commenters have been Feedly or Inoreader users, and they are undoubtedly the best choice for most people. However, there are a few other RSS readers worth highlighting:
Feedbro – FeedBro is an RSS reader extension available for Firefox , Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers like Edge and Vivaldi. It has a clean (but basic) interface that you can customize, and it comes with tons of social media integrations. It’s completely free and, unlike some other RSS add-ons, is completely self-contained, which means you don’t need to sync it with another RSS service for it to work.
Open source options : Vienna RSS and Tiny Tiny RSS. Readers also mentioned several open source options – Vienna RSS and Tiny Tiny RSS (or TTRSS). I’m an open source app lover, and both Vienna and TTRSS allow users to create standalone RSS readers. It does take a little more technical skill than just subscribing to one of the other apps or add-ons above, but they are a great option for protecting your data and taking full control of your newsfeed.