News Explorer vs Vienna RSS (2026): which should you pick?

Pick News Explorer if

• Fits if you're all Apple and want your feeds synced through iCloud without another account
• Works for readers who'd rather pay once than subscribe, and follow Reddit, YouTube, Mastodon and podcasts

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you use Windows, Android or the web, as it's built only for Apple devices
• Not for you if you want to try it on your phone first, since the App Store editions are paid up front
• Not for you if your devices are older, because it needs macOS 15.6 or iOS 18 or later
• Watch out: the Mac and mobile apps are separate purchases, $9.99 and $4.99, and the Watch app needs a paired iPhone
• Too light for linking to other services, as sharing to Instapaper, Raindrop.io and Readwise is all that's listed

Pick Vienna RSS if

• Fits if you read feeds on a Mac and like a mail-style layout
• Works for people who sync through FreshRSS, Inoreader or BazQux

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you use Windows, Linux or a phone, because it's macOS only
• Not for you if you run an older Mac, as 3.11.x needs macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or newer
• Watch out: it has no sync of its own, so syncing needs another service that supports the Open Reader API

News Explorer

• Built only for Apple platforms, with syncing that relies on iCloud; there is no web, Windows or Android version.
• The Mac app and the mobile app are separate purchases, listed at $9.99 and $4.99 on the US App Store.
• The 14-day trial is a download of the Mac edition; the App Store editions are paid up front.
• Current versions need macOS 15.6 or iOS and iPadOS 18 or later, and the Apple Watch app needs a paired iPhone.

Vienna RSS

• It runs on macOS only; no iOS, Windows, Android or web version is listed.
• Releases 3.11.x need macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or newer, per the README.
• Syncing needs a separate service that supports the Open Reader API; Vienna has no sync of its own.

News Explorer

iCloud sync without an account

Feeds, folders, articles, read status, favorites, filters, notes and tags sync through iCloud across Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Apple TV, with no other service to sign up for.

Many feed types

Reads RSS, Atom, RDF and JSON feeds along with Mastodon, Bluesky, Reddit, YouTube channel and podcast feeds, and a built-in search finds new feeds by keyword.

Automatic Reader view

For supported sources the app downloads the full original article and shows it in a clean format. Several Reader view engines are available and can be chosen per feed.

Smart filters and prefilters

Sidebar filters match on title, content, author, tags or dates, and prefilters stop unwanted articles from being downloaded at all. Both sync between devices through iCloud.

Article comments

Comments can be read inside the app for feeds that publish a comment feed per article, and for YouTube, Reddit and Hacker News feeds.

Notes, tags and sharing

Rich-text notes and custom tags can be attached to articles, and built-in sharing sends items to Instapaper, Raindrop.io and Readwise.

Vienna RSS

Direct feed reading

Connects straight to the sites you track and reads RSS, Atom and JSON feeds without needing an account.

Mail-style layout

Scan article summaries in a list, then open a single article in a simplified browser view for deeper reading.

Open Reader API sync

Syncs with cloud services using the Open Reader API. The README lists BazQux, FreshRSS, FeedHQ, Inoreader and The Old Reader as tested.

Plug-ins

XML-based plug-ins add menu and toolbar actions, and the vendor says one can be built by editing a property list file.

Custom display styles

Articles can be shown in different styles, each an HTML template plus a stylesheet, and new ones can be written.

News Explorer

• Mobile edition$4.99

  one-time purchase (US App Store)

  Universal purchase covering iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Apple TV. It does not include the Mac app.

• Mac edition$9.99

  one-time purchase (US Mac App Store)

  The macOS app. Also sold as a Personal License in the Betamagic Store, where the 14-day trial is offered, and included in Setapp.

Vienna RSS

• Free$0

  The whole app is free and released under the Apache 2.0 license; no paid plans are listed.