FreshRSS vs Liferea (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, FreshRSS grades higher than Liferea: 3.0 against 2.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
FreshRSS grades higher on features and platforms. Liferea grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money and the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Which one is for you
Pick FreshRSS if
- Fits if you want your feeds on a server you control and will look after it
- Works for households or groups, since one installation serves several users
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you've never set up a web server, because it needs PHP 8.1, a database and you to maintain them
- Not for you if you want an official phone app, as native apps are third-party clients using its API
- Not for you if you want the makers to host it, since hosted instances come from independent providers at their own prices
- Watch out: the README says a few features don't work in a mobile browser
Pick Liferea if
- Fits if you run Linux and want a local feed reader
- Works for pairing with a self-hosted reader like FreshRSS or Miniflux
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you use Windows or macOS, as no builds are listed
- Skip it if you read on a phone, as it has no phone or web app
- Watch out: install is through distribution packages, Snap or Flatpak, not one installer
- Too light for reading on other devices, as that needs a synced service and a different client
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAFreshRSSVery good | 2.8GPALifereaGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree and substantial: AGPL software with no paid plan anywhere, in a category whose middle plan is $3.33 a month. All you pay for is the server. Hosted instances exist, but they come from independent providers at their own prices. | AFree software with no paid plans, under 60% of the cheaper quarter. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright, with nothing held back, because there is no paid tier to hold it back for. One install even serves several users, so a household can share it. | AFree outright, with no plan, no cap and no account to open. |
| Features | BIt covers the whole job: websites, podcasts and video channels, search with saved queries, custom tags, themes and extensions, feeds scraped out of pages with XPath for sites that publish none, instant updates where a source supports WebSub, and OpenID Connect logins. | CFeeds, offline reading, search folders and podcasts. It targets Linux and GNOME, and does the reader job fully, as a smaller one. |
| Ease of use | DYou host it yourself, which is what pins this down: a web server, PHP 8.1 or newer, a PostgreSQL, SQLite, MariaDB or MySQL database, and then keeping the lot patched. Fine if servers are your hobby, a wall if they aren't. | BInstalled from your distribution and used like a mail client, with no store rating read. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, and the README admits a few features don't work in a mobile browser, but Google Reader and Fever compatible APIs bring in third-party apps on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS and Windows. There's a command-line interface too. | DLinux and FreeBSD only, which is a single operating system. Sync works with The Old Reader, FreshRSS, Miniflux and Tiny Tiny RSS. |
| Best for | running your own RSS reader on your own server | a local feed reader on the Linux desktop |
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: FreshRSS and Liferea. How we grade
Price against what you get
FreshRSS has no paid plan and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Liferea has no paid plan and scores 2.0.
FreshRSS scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other read-later and bookmark apps on the chart, none scores higher than FreshRSS for less, and none scores higher than Liferea 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
- FreshRSS is self-hostable, according to its own site.
In commonFree planOpen sourceRSS reader
At a glance
| FreshRSS | Liferea | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Free software under the GNU AGPL 3 license, installed on your own server. The project has no paid plan; hosted instances come from independent providers. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | FreshRSS community | Liferea project |
| Price read from | freshrss.org | github.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
FreshRSS
- You install and maintain it yourself: it needs a web server, PHP 8.1 or newer and a PostgreSQL, SQLite, MariaDB or MySQL database.
- The project runs no hosted service of its own; public and managed instances come from independent providers with their own prices.
- Reading in a native app depends on third-party clients that connect through the Google Reader or Fever API.
- The README says the web interface works on mobile browsers except for a few features.
Liferea
- It targets Linux and the GNOME desktop; the install page lists Linux and FreeBSD packages and no Windows or macOS builds.
- It has no phone or web app of its own, so reading elsewhere needs a synced service and a different client.
- Installation is through distribution packages, Snap or Flatpak rather than a single installer.
Key features
FreshRSS
- Feeds, podcasts and video channels
- Follows websites, podcasts and video channels in one place, imports and exports OPML, and receives instant updates from sources that support the WebSub standard.
- Web scraping and generated feeds
- Creates feeds for sites that offer none by scraping pages with XPath or reading JSON documents, and can generate new feeds from your own filters.
- Search, saved queries and tags
- Articles can be searched, searches can be saved as queries for quick access, and custom tags organize what you want to keep.
- Multi-user with several login methods
- One installation serves several users and offers an anonymous reading mode, with login by web form, HTTP authentication or OpenID Connect.
- APIs for mobile and desktop apps
- Google Reader and Fever compatible APIs let third-party apps on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS and Windows sync with a FreshRSS server. A command-line interface is included.
- Themes, extensions and sharing
- Themes and extensions from a dedicated repository customize the reader, and selections of articles can be reshared as HTML, RSS or OPML.
Liferea
- Mail-client style layout
- A three-part interface with a feed list, item list and an embedded web browser, similar to a desktop mail or news client.
- Offline reading
- Articles can be read without a connection, and headlines can be kept permanently in news bins.
- Full article text
- Full article text can be forced using HTML5 extraction, and some HTML5 sites without a feed can be subscribed to.
- Sync with other readers
- Synchronizes through the Google Reader API with services such as The Old Reader, FreshRSS and Miniflux, and with Tiny Tiny RSS.
- Search folders
- Search folders match items across feeds by rule.
- Podcasts and gopher
- Podcasts can be played inside the reader, and gopher phlogs can be read.
Plans
FreshRSS
FreshRSS$0
The complete aggregator, self-hosted on a web server with PHP and a PostgreSQL, SQLite, MariaDB or MySQL database.
Liferea
Liferea$0
Open-source software under the LGPL-3.0 license, installed through distribution packages, Snap or Flatpak.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, FreshRSS or Liferea?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both FreshRSS and Liferea are free to use.
Which has a free plan, FreshRSS or Liferea?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both FreshRSS and Liferea have a free plan.
Which platforms do FreshRSS and Liferea run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only FreshRSS lists a web app and only Liferea lists a Linux app. 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.