NetNewsWire vs Unread
We give NetNewsWire a 3.6 GPA and Unread a 3.2, out of 4.0. NetNewsWire grades higher on value for money and ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Unread
RSS reader for Mac, iPhone and iPad with full-text retrieval
Free plan · from $29.99/yr
How we grade them
| 3.6GPANetNewsWireExcellent | 3.2GPAUnreadVery 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. | BPremium is $29.99 a year, or $4.99 a month, and covers Mac, iPhone and iPad. Fair, not a bargain: the reading itself is free, so what you're buying is extras like offline caching and article actions. Plinky Pro subscribers get the yearly plan at 50% off. |
| 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. | AMost of it is free: reading, syncing through Unread Cloud or your feed service, full article text, themes and search. Plenty of people could stop there. Premium is offline caching, article actions, Shortcuts and Save to Unread. |
| 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. | AIt spots feeds that only carry summaries and shows the full article from the web page instead. You can even sign in to news sites that need an account. It syncs with Feedbin, Feedly, Inoreader, NewsBlur and self-hosted servers, with widgets and share extensions on top. |
| 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. | B4.59 from 442 App Store ratings. Syncing through Unread Cloud takes a Sign in with Apple and nothing else, and the app decides by itself which feeds need their full text fetched. |
| 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. | CMac, iPhone and iPad, with a long list of feed services and read-later apps it can talk to. All Apple, though. No web, Windows or Android version is listed. |
| Best for | a free, no-account RSS reader on Apple devices | reading summary-only feeds in full on Apple |
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 Unread. How we grade
Where they differ
- NetNewsWire is free. Unread starts at $29.99 per year, or $4.99 per month.
- Only NetNewsWire lists a browser extension.
- NetNewsWire is open source, according to its own site.
In commonFree planmacOSiOSRSS reader
At a glance
| NetNewsWire | Unread | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $29.99 per year, or $4.99 per month |
| 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. | Most functionality is free: feed reading, Unread Cloud and third-party sync, automatic webpage text, themes and search. Caching, article actions, Shortcuts and Save to Unread need Premium. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Brent Simmons | Golden Hill Software |
| Price read from | netnewswire.com | goldenhillsoftware.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
Unread
- Mac, iPhone and iPad readers who follow feeds that publish only summaries
- People already syncing through Feedbin, Feedly, Inoreader or NewsBlur
- Self-hosters running FreshRSS, Miniflux or a Fever-compatible server
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.
Unread
- Apple platforms only: Mac, iPhone and iPad, with no web, Windows or Android version listed.
- Offline caching, article actions, Shortcuts, Save to Unread and limiting widgets to a feed or folder all require Unread Premium.
- The press kit lists macOS 15, iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 or later as requirements.
- Save to Unread works only with Unread Cloud, Local, Feedbin, Feedly and NewsBlur accounts.
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.
Unread
- Automatic webpage text
- Unread judges whether each feed is summary-only and, if it is, shows the full article text taken from the web page. The default can be changed for individual feeds.
- Unread Cloud and third-party sync
- The free Unread Cloud service syncs devices after Sign in with Apple. Unread also syncs with Feedbin, Feedly, Gobbler, Inkwell, Inoreader and NewsBlur, and with self-hosted Fever, FreshRSS and Miniflux servers.
- Website accounts
- For news sites that require an account, you can sign in from inside Unread, and the app then generates the full article text for that site on the device.
- Caching for offline reading
- With Premium, webpage text and images are cached ahead of time so articles open quickly and remain available offline. Caching can be limited on cellular connections.
- Article actions and Shortcuts
- Premium sends articles to services such as Anybox, GoodLinks, Instapaper, Matter, Pinboard, Plinky, Raindrop.io, Readwise and wallabag, and runs your own Shortcuts on articles and links.
- Share extensions and widgets
- Subscribe in Unread adds a site's feeds from a browser's share sheet, and Save to Unread, a Premium feature, turns the page being viewed into an article. Widgets show recent articles and unread counts.
Plans
NetNewsWire
Free$0
The complete app on Mac, iPhone and iPad, including iCloud sync and syncing with third-party feed services.
Unread
Free$0
Feed reading with Unread Cloud or third-party sync, automatic webpage text, website accounts, color themes, search and basic widgets.
Unread Premium$29.99
per year, or $4.99 per month; covers Mac, iPhone and iPad
Adds caching of webpage text and images, article actions, Shortcuts, Save to Unread, widget customization, custom app icons and premium support.
Ways to pay less
NetNewsWire
No public discounts listed.
Unread
- Annual discount
About 50% off with the yearly subscription
Unread's press kit lists Premium at $29.99 a year or $4.99 a month, so a year paid up front costs about half of twelve monthly payments.
- Other savings
50% off for Plinky Pro subscribers
Golden Hill Software says Plinky Pro subscribers can get an annual Unread Premium subscription at a 50% discount, which continues for as long as they stay subscribed to Plinky Pro.
