Fraidycat vs NetNewsWire (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Fraidycat and NetNewsWire share a 3.0 GPA, both are free, so the choice depends on which platforms you need.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Which one is for you
Pick Fraidycat if
- Fits if you want to keep up with a few people more than with every post they write
- Works for a computer-only reader who is happy with a small free tool
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a phone app: mobile apps are only on the wish list
- Not for you if you want a tool that is kept up: the extensions were last released in May 2021 and the desktop apps in September 2020
- Watch out: the Mac, Windows and Linux apps have no online sync
- Watch out: Twitter, Instagram and SoundCloud pages are read by scraping, so they may break when those sites change
Pick NetNewsWire if
- Fits if you're on Mac, iPhone or iPad and want a free reader with no account
- Works for people who already sync feeds through Feedbin, Feedly or Inoreader
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you use Windows, Android or the web, because it's Apple devices only
- Tight if your Mac or iPhone is an older one, since the current version needs macOS 15 or iOS 26 and newer
- Too light for you if you want filters, rules or reader view on everywhere at once
- Watch out: volunteers make it, and bugs and requests go through GitHub issues and a forum
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAFraidycatVery good | 3.0GPANetNewsWireVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree to download and run, with no paid plan listed anywhere on the site. The reading category's middle price is $4 a month. | AIt costs nothing, and there's nothing to upgrade to, in a category where paid readers start at $2.42 a month in the cheapest quarter. Open source under the MIT license with no in-app purchases, and the project even asks supporters not to send money. |
| Free plan and trial | AEverything is free, with no paid tier on the site. | AThe complete app is free on Mac, iPhone and iPad, iCloud sync and syncing with third-party feed services included. No cap anyone will reach, because there's no paid version to hold anything back for. |
| Features | CIt follows people, not posts, across many source types, with importance levels and tags. That is a smaller job than a full reader, and the site lists mobile apps and keyword filters only as things it would like to add. | CIt covers the basics of feed reading: direct feeds or sync through seven services, reader view, smart feeds, folders, stars, search, single-key shortcuts and OPML. The listing names the gap: reader view can't be turned on for everything at once, only per article or per feed, so summary-only feeds stay fiddly. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. You install an extension and start adding people, with little to set up. | B4.75 from 884 App Store ratings, short of the 1,000 ratings we want behind an A. There's no account to make, since it can download feeds directly: add a feed, or use the Safari extension on the page you're reading, and you're off. |
| Platforms and integrations | CBrowser extensions and desktop apps for Mac, Windows and Linux only, with no phone app, and the desktop apps have no online sync. | COne family of devices: Mac, iPhone and iPad, with a Safari extension and nothing for web, Windows or Android. The current release also needs macOS 15 or iOS 26 and newer. It does sync with seven feed services, if you read elsewhere too. |
| Best for | following people across sites without a feed | a free, no-account RSS reader on Apple devices |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Fraidycat and NetNewsWire. How we grade
Price against what you get
Fraidycat has no paid plan and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. NetNewsWire has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
On this chart the two sit in the same place: the same score for the same starting price. Of the other read-later and bookmark apps on the chart, none scores higher than Fraidycat for less, and none scores higher than NetNewsWire for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Fraidycat also covers bookmarks.
In commonFree planBrowser extensionmacOSOpen sourceRSS reader
At a glance
| Fraidycat | NetNewsWire | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Everything: the site lists no paid plan. | Entirely free and open source under the MIT license, with no in-app purchases. The project asks people who want to support it not to send money. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Kicks Condor | Brent Simmons |
| Price read from | fraidyc.at | netnewswire.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Fraidycat
- The extensions were last released in May 2021 and the desktop apps in September 2020, according to the site.
- The Mac, Windows and Linux apps are marked as having no online sync.
- The site lists mobile apps and keyword filters only as things it would like to add.
- Pages for Twitter, Instagram and SoundCloud are read by scraping, so they may break when those sites change.
NetNewsWire
- Apple platforms only: Mac, iPhone and iPad, with no web, Windows or Android version.
- The current version needs macOS 15 or iOS 26 and newer.
- Reader view cannot be switched on for everything at once; it is used per article or per feed.
- The app is made by volunteers, with bug reports and requests handled through GitHub issues and a forum.
Key features
Fraidycat
- People, not posts
- The main page lists each follow as a two-line summary of their recent activity, rather than a feed of individual posts.
- Many source types
- Reads RSS, Atom and JSON Feed, plus Twitter, Instagram and SoundCloud by picking details out of their pages. It also finds the feeds for Pinboard, YouTube and Reddit.
- Importance levels
- Each follow is set to real-time, daily, weekly, monthly or yearly, which controls how often it is checked and whether it stays on the main page.
- Tags
- Follows are grouped by tag, and a tab bar on the main page filters the list by tag.
- Sync through your browser
- Follows sync between computers by way of the browser's own sync, with no central Fraidycat server.
NetNewsWire
- Direct feed downloading
- Feeds can be fetched straight from the sites that publish them, so the app works without signing up for a feed service.
- Sync through iCloud or feed services
- Feed lists and read and starred status sync through iCloud, or through Feedbin, Feedly, BazQux, Inoreader, NewsBlur, The Old Reader and FreshRSS.
- Reader view and article themes
- Reader view pulls the full article text when a feed carries only a summary and can be set to always apply to a given feed. Article themes are customizable.
- Smart feeds, folders and stars
- All Unread and Today smart feeds, folders, starred articles and search organize reading, and read articles and feeds can be hidden.
- Keyboard navigation and Mac extras
- Single-key shortcuts cover everyday navigation. The Mac app adds a customizable toolbar, multiple windows and AppleScript support.
- Safari extension and OPML
- A Safari extension adds the feed for the page you are viewing, and feed lists can be imported and exported as OPML.
Plans
Fraidycat
Free$0
The Firefox and Chrome extensions and the desktop apps, with no paid tier listed.
NetNewsWire
Free$0
The complete app on Mac, iPhone and iPad, including iCloud sync and syncing with third-party feed services.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Fraidycat or NetNewsWire?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Fraidycat and NetNewsWire are free to use.
Which has a free plan, Fraidycat or NetNewsWire?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Fraidycat and NetNewsWire have a free plan.
Which platforms do Fraidycat and NetNewsWire run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Fraidycat lists Windows and Linux apps and only NetNewsWire lists an iOS app. Both list a macOS app and a browser extension. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.