Newsboat vs RSS Guard (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, RSS Guard grades higher than Newsboat: 3.0 against 2.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
RSS Guard grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Which one is for you
Pick Newsboat if
- Fits if you live in a terminal and want feeds there too
- Works for people who like scripting what happens to an article
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a point-and-click app, because it's text only
- Not for you if you use Windows, as the docs list Linux, FreeBSD and macOS and don't mention it
- Too light for phone reading, since there's no mobile version
- Watch out: setup is by config file and key bindings, and NetBSD is unsupported
Pick RSS Guard if
- Fits if you're on Windows or Linux and want a free, open-source desktop reader
- Works for people who already sync with FreshRSS, Miniflux, Tiny Tiny RSS or Nextcloud News
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you read on your phone, as no iOS, Android or web app is listed
- Not for you if you're on a Mac: the docs say macOS packages aren't well tested and support SQLite only
- Watch out: official Windows builds aren't digitally signed, so SmartScreen may warn and Gatekeeper may block it
- Too light for anyone who won't write scripts, regex or SQL, which is how its filters and saved searches work
- Watch out: rssguard.com is unrelated to the project; the official downloads are on GitHub Releases
How we grade them
| 2.8GPANewsboatGood | 3.0GPARSS GuardVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree under the MIT license, distributed as source and through package managers, against a $2.50 start for the cheaper quarter of reading apps. | AFree under the GNU GPLv3, with no paid version at all, where paid readers in this category want $3.33 a month in the middle. The author takes optional donations through GitHub Sponsors, Liberapay and Patreon, and that's it. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe whole program is free, with no paid plans and nothing held back. | AThe complete application is free on Windows, Linux and macOS, with every service plugin and feature included. There's no cap and nothing to unlock, because there's no paid version to unlock it for. |
| Features | BFilters, killfiles, a built-in HTML renderer, scripts, bookmarking, macros, podcasts and client mode for outside services. Nothing in the listing is missing for feed reading. | BIt covers the whole desktop feed-reading job: feeds kept locally or synced with Feedly, Inoreader, FreshRSS, Miniflux, Nextcloud News and Tiny Tiny RSS, scripted filters that label or reject articles, saved searches as regex or SQL, a built-in podcast player and full-article fetching. |
| Ease of use | DNo rating on record. It's a command-line program set up by config file and key bindings, which takes some editing. | CNo store rating to go on, and the listing shows a learning curve: filters and saved searches are written as scripts, regular expressions or SQL. The Windows builds aren't signed either, so SmartScreen may warn and macOS Gatekeeper may block it. |
| Platforms and integrations | CLinux and macOS, plus FreeBSD per the docs, and text only. No Windows, graphical, web or phone version. | CComputers only. Windows, Linux and macOS, and no web app, iPhone app or Android app is listed, so your feeds don't travel. It does sync with eight online readers, and the docs say the macOS packages aren't well tested. |
| Best for | an RSS reader that runs in the terminal | 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: Newsboat and RSS Guard. How we grade
Price against what you get
Newsboat has no paid plan and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. RSS Guard has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
RSS Guard scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other read-later and bookmark apps on the chart, none scores higher than Newsboat for less, and none scores higher than RSS Guard 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
- Newsboat also covers bookmarks.
In commonFree planLinuxmacOSOpen sourceRSS reader
At a glance
| Newsboat | RSS Guard | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | None | 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 | ||
| Made by | Newsboat project | Martin Rotter |
| Price read from | newsboat.org | github.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Newsboat
- It is a text interface only; there is no graphical, web or mobile version.
- The documentation lists Linux, FreeBSD and macOS as tested; Windows is not mentioned and NetBSD is unsupported.
- Setup is by config file and key bindings, which takes some editing.
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
Newsboat
- Built-in HTML renderer
- Text-only entries display inside the terminal, so there is no need to start a web browser to read them.
- Filters and killfiles
- Drop articles by title, author or contents, and build meta-feeds that gather articles by any criteria you write.
- Service client mode
- Connects to The Old Reader, NewsBlur, FeedHQ, BazQux, Feedbin, FreshRSS, Tiny Tiny RSS, Inoreader, Miniflux and others.
- Scripts and bookmarking
- Pipe links or whole articles to bookmarking scripts, and run feeds through transforming scripts before display.
- Macros and podcasts
- Chain several actions behind two keystrokes. Podboat, a companion tool, gives basic podcast downloading.
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
Newsboat
Free$0
Free software under the MIT license, distributed as source and through package managers; no paid plans.
RSS Guard
Free$0
The complete application for Windows, Linux and macOS, with every service plugin and feature included.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Newsboat or RSS Guard?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Newsboat and RSS Guard are free to use.
Which has a free plan, Newsboat or RSS Guard?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Newsboat and RSS Guard have a free plan.
Which platforms do Newsboat and RSS Guard run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only RSS Guard lists a Windows app. Both list macOS and Linux apps. 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.