Reeder vs Vienna RSS (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Vienna RSS grades higher than Reeder: 3.0 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
Reeder grades higher on platforms. Vienna RSS grades higher on the free plan, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money.
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
Which one is for you
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
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
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAReederFair | 3.0GPAVienna RSSVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | AFree under Apache 2.0, with no paid plans listed, against a $2.50 start for the cheaper quarter of reading apps. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | AThe whole app is free and nothing is held back. |
| Features | 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. | BDirect feed reading, a mail-style layout, plug-ins, custom display styles and Open Reader API sync. Nothing in the listing is missing for feed reading. |
| Ease of use | 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. | BNo rating on record. Download it, add feeds and read, with nothing else to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | DmacOS only, and 3.11.x needs macOS 10.15 or newer. No iOS, Windows, Android or web version. |
| Best for | one timeline of feeds on Apple devices | a free RSS reader for the Mac |
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: Reeder and Vienna RSS. How we grade
Price against what you get
Reeder starts at $1.25 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Vienna RSS has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
Vienna RSS scores higher and starts $1.25 a month lower. Of the other read-later and bookmark apps on the chart, 10 score higher than Reeder for less, and none scores higher than Vienna RSS 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
- Vienna RSS is open source, according to its own site.
- Reeder also covers read later and bookmarks.
At a glance
| Reeder | Vienna RSS | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $14.99 per year, or $1.99 per month (US App Store) | Free |
| Free plan | 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. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Silvio Rizzi | ViennaRSS Project |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | vienna-rss.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
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.
Key features
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.
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.
Plans
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.
Vienna RSS
Free$0
The whole app is free and released under the Apache 2.0 license; no paid plans are listed.
Ways to pay less
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.
Vienna RSS
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Reeder or Vienna RSS?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Vienna RSS is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $1.25 a month when paid by the year for Reeder. Reeder starts at $14.99 per year, or $1.99 per month (US App Store), and Vienna RSS is free.
Which has a free plan, Reeder or Vienna RSS?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Reeder and Vienna RSS have a free plan.
Which platforms do Reeder and Vienna RSS run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Reeder lists an iOS app. Both list a macOS app. 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.