Lire vs Reeder (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Lire grades higher than Reeder: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Lire grades higher on features and ease of use. Reeder grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Reeder
Feed reader for Apple devices with a synced timeline
Free plan · from $14.99/yr
Which one is for you
Pick Lire if
- Fits if you live on Apple devices and read feeds that only show a snippet
- Works for people who want articles saved for offline reading
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you use Windows or Android, as there's no version for either
- Pricey if you want both Mac and iPhone, since they're two separate $9.99 purchases
- Watch out: both listings mention in-app purchases but don't show what they cost
- Tight if you want to try before buying on iOS, as a demo is mentioned only for the Mac app
Pick Reeder if
- Fits if every device you read on is an iPhone, iPad or Mac
- Works for readers who'd pay $14.99 a year to mix feeds, videos and podcasts in one timeline
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you use Windows, Android or a web browser, as it's iPhone, iPad and Mac only
- Not for you if you like watching an unread count drop, because Reeder has none
- Tight if you stay free: it stops at 10 feeds, with no OPML import, Shared Feeds or social timelines
- Watch out: third-party sync services aren't supported, so syncing is through iCloud or not at all
- Watch out: the older Reeder Classic is sold separately ($4.99 on iPhone and iPad, $9.99 on Mac), so check which app you're buying
How we grade them
| 2.6GPALireGood | 2.4GPAReederFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$9.99 one time for each app, under a year of the $3.99 that a middle-priced reading app charges. The in-app purchase amounts aren't shown on either listing. | A$14.99 a year is $1.25 a month, and reading apps here start at $2.42 a month in the lowest-priced quarter, so it costs about half of that. One subscription covers iPhone, iPad and Mac, and paying monthly is $1.99. |
| Free plan and trial | DNo free plan. A demo of the Mac app is offered on the vendor's site and none is mentioned for iOS, and the demo limits aren't on record. | CFree gets you nearly every feature, but only 10 feeds, which is a cap anyone with a reading habit will hit in a week. No OPML import either, so bringing a list over from another reader means paying, and there's no trial of the paid version. |
| Features | BFull-text articles, offline reading, standalone use or sync with Feedly, Feedbin, Inoreader, NewsBlur, FreshRSS and others. Nothing in the listing is missing from a reader's job. | CThe basics are here: one timeline for feeds, videos, podcasts and social posts, filters, tags, saved links and Shared Feeds. The listing names two gaps, though, and they're not small ones: no unread counts at all, and no third-party sync services, so syncing is iCloud or nothing. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record. Install it and read, with sync as an option rather than a requirement. | C4.28 from 882 App Store ratings, which is middling for a feed reader and the lowest of the Apple readers here. Tracking your place by scroll position rather than read and unread also takes getting used to if you've come from anything else. |
| Platforms and integrations | CiPhone, iPad and Mac only, which is one family of devices. No Windows, Android or web version. | COne family of devices: iPhone, iPad and Mac, with iCloud sync and home timelines from Mastodon, Bluesky and Micro.blog. No web, Windows or Android version is listed, and no API. |
| Best for | an RSS reader that turns partial feeds into full text | one timeline of feeds 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: Lire and Reeder. How we grade
Where they differ
- Reeder also covers read later and bookmarks.
In commoniOSmacOSRSS reader
At a glance
| Lire | Reeder | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9.99 one-time per app, in-app purchases listed | $14.99 per year, or $1.99 per month (US App Store) |
| Free plan | None | The free version has nearly all features but is limited to 10 feeds, with no OPML import, no Shared Feeds and no Mastodon, Bluesky or Micro.blog home timelines. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Kunal Sood | Silvio Rizzi |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Lire
- The Mac and iOS apps are bought separately, at $9.99 each on the US App Store.
- Both listings mention in-app purchases but do not show what they cost.
- No Windows, Android or web version is listed.
- A demo is offered for the Mac app on the vendor's site; no demo is mentioned for iOS.
Reeder
- Apple only: it runs on iPhone, iPad and Mac, with no web, Windows or Android version listed.
- The free version stops at 10 feeds and leaves out OPML import, Shared Feeds and social home timelines.
- There are no unread counts, and third-party sync services are not supported; syncing is through iCloud.
- Reeder Classic, the older app, is sold separately as a one-time purchase: $4.99 on iPhone and iPad, $9.99 on Mac.
Key features
Lire
- Full-text articles
- Its own engine fetches the whole article for feeds that publish only a snippet, with no third-party parsing service.
- Offline reading
- Full text can be downloaded ahead of time and cached, so cached articles open without a connection.
- Standalone or synced
- Use it without an account, or sync through iCloud on current versions or a supported feed service.
- Many sync services
- Feedly, Feedbin, Feed Wrangler, FeedHQ, The Old Reader, Inoreader, NewsBlur, BazQux, FreshRSS, Miniflux, Nextcloud News and Tiny Tiny RSS.
Reeder
- Unified timeline
- RSS feeds, videos, podcasts and social media posts appear in one timeline. Items can be opened in other apps when you want the full client.
- Synced timeline position
- Reading progress is tracked by scroll position instead of read and unread states, and it syncs for the home timeline, filters, folders and single feeds.
- Filters
- Build custom timelines that include or exclude posts by keyword, media type or feed type. The built-in Audio and Video timelines are filters.
- Saved links and tags
- A share extension saves links from other apps. Later, Bookmarks and Favorites are built-in tags with their own keyboard shortcuts, and custom tags can be added.
- Shared Feeds
- Subscribers can turn any tag into a public, auto-updating JSON feed with a browser view. A shared feed carries the last 50 items added to the tag.
- iCloud sync without data collection
- Subscriptions, timeline position and tagged items sync through your own iCloud account, and the developer states that Reeder collects no data.
Plans
Lire
lire for iOS and iPadOS$9.99
one-time App Store price; in-app purchase amounts not shown
Universal purchase for iPhone and iPad, with the full-text engine and iCloud or service sync.
lire for macOS$9.99
one-time Mac App Store price; in-app purchase amounts not shown
Separate Mac app. A demo build is offered on the vendor's site.
Reeder
Free$0
Nearly all features for up to 10 feeds, without OPML import, Shared Feeds or home timelines from Mastodon, Bluesky and Micro.blog.
Subscription$1.99
per month, or $14.99 per year (US App Store)
Lifts the 10-feed limit and adds Shared Feeds, OPML import and social home timelines. One subscription covers iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Ways to pay less
Lire
No public discounts listed.
Reeder
- Annual discount
About 37% off with the yearly plan
The US App Store lists the subscription at $14.99 a year or $1.99 a month, so a year paid up front costs about 37% less than twelve monthly payments.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Lire or Reeder?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Lire starts at $9.99 one-time per app, in-app purchases listed, and Reeder starts at $14.99 per year, or $1.99 per month (US App Store).
Which has a free plan, Lire or Reeder?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Reeder has a free plan. Lire does not.
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.