NetNewsWire vs RSS Guard
We give NetNewsWire a 3.6 GPA and RSS Guard a 3.4, out of 4.0. NetNewsWire grades higher on ease of use. RSS Guard grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
How we grade them
| 3.6GPANetNewsWireExcellent | 3.4GPARSS GuardVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AIt costs nothing, and there's nothing to upgrade to. It's open source under the MIT license with no in-app purchases, and the project even asks supporters not to send money. | AFree under the GNU GPLv3, with no paid version at all. The author takes optional donations through GitHub Sponsors, Liberapay and Patreon, and that's it. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe complete app is free on Mac, iPhone and iPad, iCloud sync and syncing with third-party feed services included. Nothing is held back, because there's no paid version to hold it for. | AThe complete application is free on Windows, Linux and macOS, with every service plugin and feature included. Nothing is held back and there's nothing to unlock. |
| Features | AFeeds straight from the source or synced through iCloud, Feedbin, Feedly, Inoreader, NewsBlur and more. Reader view pulls the full text when a feed only gives a summary. Smart feeds, folders, stars, search, single-key shortcuts and OPML in and out. It's a plain reader, and it does the whole of that job. | AFeeds stored locally or synced with Feedly, Inoreader, FreshRSS, Miniflux, Nextcloud News and Tiny Tiny RSS. Scripted filters change, label or reject incoming articles, searches can be saved as regular expressions or SQL, podcasts play inside the app, and it can fetch full articles. |
| Ease of use | A4.75 from 884 App Store ratings. 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. | CNo App Store rating to go on. The official Windows builds aren't digitally signed, so SmartScreen may warn on first launch, and macOS Gatekeeper may block the app. The cleverest parts, filters and queries, are written as scripts, regular expressions or SQL. |
| Platforms and integrations | CMac, iPhone and iPad, with a Safari extension. All Apple. There's no web, Windows or Android version, and the current release needs macOS 15 or iOS 26 and newer. It does sync with seven feed services, if you read elsewhere too. | BWindows, Linux and macOS, syncing with a long list of online readers. But it's a desktop application only. No web app and no iOS or Android app is listed, and the docs say the macOS packages aren't well tested. |
| Best for | a free, no-account RSS reader on Apple devices | a free desktop reader for Windows and Linux |
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: NetNewsWire and RSS Guard. How we grade
Where they differ
- NetNewsWire is free. RSS Guard is free.
- Only NetNewsWire lists an iOS app.
- Only NetNewsWire lists a browser extension.
- Only RSS Guard lists Windows and Linux apps.
In commonFree planmacOSOpen sourceRSS reader
At a glance
| NetNewsWire | RSS Guard | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free 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 and open source under the GNU GPLv3, with no paid version. The author accepts optional donations through GitHub Sponsors, Liberapay and Patreon. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Brent Simmons | Martin Rotter |
| Price read from | netnewswire.com | github.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Who each one suits
NetNewsWire
- Mac, iPhone and iPad users who want a free reader with no account
- People who already sync feeds through Feedbin, Feedly or Inoreader
- Readers who prefer open-source software
RSS Guard
- Windows and Linux users who want a free, open-source desktop reader
- People syncing with FreshRSS, Miniflux, Tiny Tiny RSS or Nextcloud News
- Power users who want scripted filters and SQL-style saved searches
Worth knowing
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.
RSS Guard
- It is a desktop application: no web app and no iOS or Android app is listed.
- Official Windows builds are not digitally signed, so SmartScreen may warn on first launch, and macOS Gatekeeper may block the app.
- The docs say macOS packages are not well tested and support only the SQLite database backend.
- The project warns that the rssguard.com website is unrelated; official downloads are on the GitHub Releases page.
Key features
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.
RSS Guard
- Local feeds or online services
- A multi-account app: standard feeds can be stored locally, or an account can sync two ways with Feedly, Gmail, Google Reader API services, Nextcloud News or Tiny Tiny RSS.
- Article filters
- Scripted filters can change incoming articles, mark them important, assign labels or reject them. The docs describe filters as a tool for advanced users that can slow feed updates.
- Labels and saved queries
- Any number of labels can be assigned to an article, and a Query keeps a search in the feed list, written as a regular expression or an SQL WHERE clause.
- Built-in media player
- Podcasts and other audio or video play inside the app through a libmpv-based player or a simpler QtMultimedia one, depending on the build.
- Full-article extraction
- A bundled article extractor powers the Fetch full articles feature, pulling the main readable content from a web page, and it can also be called from scripts.
- Skins, notifications and databases
- Skins restyle the interface and the article viewer, desktop notifications are configurable by event, and data is kept in SQLite by default or on a MariaDB server.
Plans
NetNewsWire
Free$0
The complete app on Mac, iPhone and iPad, including iCloud sync and syncing with third-party feed services.
RSS Guard
Free$0
The complete application for Windows, Linux and macOS, with every service plugin and feature included.
