The Flipboard Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Flipboard in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
The Insider’s Guide
Free news aggregator built around topics and shared Magazines
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among read-later and bookmark apps, read from Flipboard’s own pages.
Made by Flipboard Inc. · checked Oct 5, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05After you payGetting your money back, getting out, and getting help
- 06The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 07Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 08About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Flipboard’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Flipboard’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 5, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
3.2
GPA, above 32 of the 36 other read-later and bookmark apps we grade
Flipboard is a news and story aggregator, described by the company as a social magazine, that builds a personalized feed from the topics, publishers, Magazines and people a reader follows. Stories can be saved into Magazines that stay private or are shared publicly, and accounts on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky can be followed from inside Flipboard. It is free on the web, iOS and Android.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Flipboard, taken from its own pages and our grades.
Pick a few topics and you have a feed, with nothing to set up.
- 1
Best for browsing the news by topic, for free
Flipboard is a free news app laid out like a magazine: follow topics, publishers and people, and it builds a feed you flip through, with Magazines to save and share stories.
- 2
It is free
Flipboard has no paid plan at all. The whole app is free: the US App Store lists Flipboard as Free with no in-app purchases, and the Google Play listing notes that it contains ads.
- 3
It runs on 3 platforms
Web, iOS and Android.
- 4
Personalized For You feed
Follow topics, Magazines and people to build a feed that updates in real time, then tune it by asking for more or less of a kind of story or muting sources.
- 5
Magazines
Save stories into your own Magazines for a project, a hobby or later reading. A Magazine can be made public, and Group Magazines let others contribute.
- 6
Fediverse following
Follow people who post on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky so their stories appear alongside what you follow on Flipboard.
- 7
A 3.2 GPA, above 32 of 36
That is against the other read-later and bookmark apps we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 8
Keep it
Flipboard is free, so making your own would save you nothing.
- 9
What users like
Several reviewers have used it for years, some of them almost daily, and call it the news reader they liked best even while complaining about recent changes.
Flipboard at a glance
- Pricing
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web, iOS, Android
- Made by
- Flipboard Inc.
- Category
- Read Later & Bookmarks
- Our grade
- 3.2 GPA, very good
- Store rating
- 4.7 on the App Store, 329,002 ratings
The report card
Best for browsing the news by topic, for free
Flipboard is a free news app laid out like a magazine: follow topics, publishers and people, and it builds a feed you flip through, with Magazines to save and share stories. It's paid for by ads, reviewers say they cover articles or slow pages, there's no paid version to remove them, no feeds of your own, no offline reading or highlights, and muted subjects come back.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A | Free and substantial: the US App Store lists it as Free with no in-app purchases, and it's free on the web and Android too, in a category where the middle plan is $3.33 a month. You pay with your attention, since advertising funds it. |
| Free plan and trial | A | Free outright, with no cap anywhere: the personalised feed, following and Magazines, and no paid tier above it holding anything back. The flip side is there's no way to pay the ads away either. |
| Features | C | It covers topic browsing and leaves out much of what this category does: a For You feed you nudge with more and less, Magazines to keep, share or open to a group, a Daily Edition and fediverse following, but no feeds of your own, no offline reading and no highlights. Reviewers say muted subjects come back. |
| Ease of use | B | 4.66 from about 329,000 App Store ratings, just under the 4.7 our top mark wants, from a huge crowd. Pick a few topics and you have a feed, with nothing to set up. The reviews we read do grumble about ads covering the article or slowing the page. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web, iPhone, iPad, Android and Apple Watch, with Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky accounts followable from inside it, plus an embeddable Magazine widget and a Flip it browser button. No desktop app, so on a computer it's the website. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Flipboard is for
- Fits if you browse news by topic instead of managing a list of feeds
- Works for people who collect articles into a Magazine to share with a group
Who it is not for
- Skip it if ads drive you mad, because it's ad-supported with no paid version to remove them
- Not for you if you want a desktop app, as it's the website on a computer
- Too light for people who want strict control of their feed, since reviewers say muted subjects return
- Too light for RSS readers, as you can't add feeds of your own, read offline or highlight
Good to know
Good for
- Browsing news and magazine-style stories by topic rather than by feed
- Curating articles into Magazines to share with a group or the public
- Following Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky accounts next to news sources
Worth knowing
- Flipboard is supported by advertising; the Google Play listing notes that the app contains ads.
- No paid tier is listed, so there is no option to pay for an ad-free version.
- No desktop app is listed: the App Store shows iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, with the website for computers.
What people say
- 4.7on the App Store, from 329,002 ratings
What they like
- Several reviewers have used it for years, some of them almost daily, and call it the news reader they liked best even while complaining about recent changes.
What they don’t
- Advertising that covers or delays the article being read is a repeated complaint, with reviewers describing pop-ups over the text and pages that are slow to load or fail to.
- Several reviewers are unhappy with what the feed shows them, from subjects that return after being muted to coverage they find one-sided.
10 App Store reviews, seven of them three stars or lower and six more than three years old. Hacker News had only passing mentions
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
Free
No paid plan at all
Flipboard is free to use.
You pay with your attention, since advertising funds it.
Free
$0
The personalized feed, following, and Magazine curation on the web, iOS and Android. Supported by advertising.
The free plan
The whole app is free: the US App Store lists Flipboard as Free with no in-app purchases, and the Google Play listing notes that it contains ads.
Read from apps.apple.com on Oct 5, 2026.
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
3
Places it runs: Web, iOS and Android
Free news aggregator built around topics and shared Magazines. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: read later, bookmarks.
No desktop app, so on a computer it's the website.
- Personalized For You feed
- Follow topics, Magazines and people to build a feed that updates in real time, then tune it by asking for more or less of a kind of story or muting sources.
- Magazines
- Save stories into your own Magazines for a project, a hobby or later reading. A Magazine can be made public, and Group Magazines let others contribute.
- Fediverse following
- Follow people who post on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky so their stories appear alongside what you follow on Flipboard.
- Daily Edition and Explore
- The Daily Edition shows the day's news, the Explore tab browses by category and Magazine, and a Community tab features curators to follow.
- Topic newsletters
- Flipboard sends email newsletters on its most popular topics, such as the Tech Briefing, the Climate Briefing and Wanderlust.
- Site and curator tools
- The tools page offers an embeddable Magazine and storyboard widget, follow and share buttons for websites, and a Flip it browser button for saving links.
Where it runs
- Web
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
- Threads
- Mastodon
- Bluesky
Who makes Flipboard
Flipboard Inc. publishes the Flipboard reading app and Surf, a browser for the open social web. The app is free to read; the company sells advertising to brands and publishers, through formats such as its Promoted Posts, and has raised venture capital.
- Based
- Remote, with people across the United States and in Canada and the United Kingdomabout.flipboard.com
- Ownership
- Privately held. Privately held. Flipboard's own funding announcement names Rizvi Traverse Management, Goldman Sachs, Insight Venture Partners, Index Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers as its investors, and no parent company is named.about.flipboard.com
- Funding
- Flipboard announced a $50 million Series C led by Rizvi Traverse Management in September 2013, then closed the round with another $50 million in December 2013, which TechCrunch said took the total past $160 million. TechCrunch reported a further $50 million from JP Morgan in July 2015.about.flipboard.comtechcrunch.comtechcrunch.com
- Founders and leaders
- Mike McCue, CEO and co-foundertechcrunch.com
- Hiring
- Its careers page has an Open Positions section, but no roles were listed on it when the page was read.about.flipboard.com
- Lately
- Surf Launches Social Websites, a New Model for Social Media · Apr 2, 2026
- Now Discover Surf Custom Feeds on Bluesky Directory · Jul 23, 2025
Read on Oct 18, 2026 from the company’s own pages and from news reports. What is not stated there is left out.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
32/36
Other read-later and bookmark apps it is graded above
Flipboard's GPA of 3.2 is higher than 32 of the 36 other read-later and bookmark apps we grade, and level with 4.
It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 26 of 36) and worst on features (C, above 0).
Flipboard has no paid plan.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4, and no tool on the category's chart scores higher without costing more.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 37 read-later and bookmark apps we grade, cut by the letter each got. Flipboard’s own letter is outlined.
- AValue for moneyAbove 23 of 36
- AFree plan and trialAbove 26 of 36
- CFeaturesAbove 0 of 36
- BEase of useAbove 15 of 36
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 10 of 36
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 33 read-later and bookmark apps. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Flipboard is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
Flipboard is free, so making your own would save you nothing.
It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 3.2 is higher than 32 of the 36 other read-later and bookmark apps we grade.
What you could make
- Bookmarks and read later: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- Hooks into the device itself: widgets.
What this rests on. Flipboard’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Refunds
After you pay
Getting your money back, getting out, and getting help
What happens once you have paid: whether you can get your money back, how to leave, and how to reach a person when something goes wrong. Each is graded from Flipboard’s own terms and help pages.
Leaving Flipboard
Not graded · checked Oct 18, 2026
Flipboard is free. There is no plan, no card on file and nothing to claim back, so there is no refund policy to judge and the terms never mention a fee. The only thing you can end is the account itself, and that you do in the app's settings in a few taps. Be sure before you do: Flipboard says deletion is permanent and it cannot put an account back.
- Closing your account
There is no paid plan to cancel. An account is deleted from the app or the website: on the web you open the profile menu, go to Settings, choose Delete account and confirm with your username and password. The help article gives the same route for Android and iOS through Edit Profile, and says you can trigger a password reset from the same page if you have lost the password.
- Go to your Profile menu on the web
- Select Settings
- Choose Delete account
- Confirm with your username and password
- Hit Submit, which cannot be undone
- What you keep afterwards
The help article says that once an account is deleted, the profile, magazines, comments, likes, follows, followers and setting preferences are all removed permanently, and warns there is no undo. A separate article says Flipboard cannot undelete or reinstate an account, and another covers a deleted profile still appearing in search results for a while.
Stated on flipboard.helpshift.com
In your favour
- Nothing to pay, so nothing to cancel and nothing to ask back.
- You delete the account yourself, in the app or on the web, in a handful of taps.
Watch out for
- Deletion is permanent and Flipboard says it cannot reinstate an account.
- Everything goes with it: magazines, comments, likes, followers and your settings.
- No page read offers a way to export your magazines before you delete.
Customer support
Ordinary · checked Oct 18, 2026
A tidy help centre and an address to write to, and that is the lot. The articles are organised by account, settings, curating magazines, reporting and known issues, and they cover the awkward things like deleting an account. What you will not find is a promise: no hours, no reply time, no chat, no phone. For a free app that is the usual arrangement, so a C.
Ways to get help
Email
The terms of use point you to the Help Center for questions, feedback and disputes, and give a support address to write to alongside it. No form was shown on the help pages we read.
Stated on about.flipboard.comHelp centre
The Flipboard Help Center, hosted on Helpshift, with sections on account management, navigating, personalising your feed, settings, the fediverse, curating magazines, rules and reporting, and known issues.
Stated on flipboard.helpshift.com
Not listed on Flipboard’s pages: live chat, phone.
- When people answer
Its pages do not say.
- How fast it says it replies
Its pages do not say.
- What depends on your plan
Its pages do not say.
In your favour
- The help centre is open to anyone, with no account or login needed.
- Articles cover the things people actually get stuck on, including deleting an account.
Watch out for
- No hours and no reply time are stated anywhere we could read.
- No live chat and no phone line: it is articles or a written message.
- Some articles are old, with the account deletion one last updated years ago.
What these two grades rest on. Read on 18 October 2026: Flipboard's terms of use, its Help Center on Helpshift, the account management section of that help centre and its article on deleting an account, and the app's App Store listing. Nobody here closed an account or contacted its support. They are graded apart from the five that make the GPA. How we grade refunds and support.
Part 06 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Feedly, Inoreader, NewsBlur and Feeder
The 4 tools Flipboard is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.6GPA
Feedly
Free plan · from $6.99/mo
News reader for RSS feeds, with AI filtering on paid plans.
- Only Feedly lists a browser extension.
- Flipboard also covers bookmarks.
- Feedly also covers rSS reader and highlights.
- 3.0GPA
Inoreader
Free plan · from $7.50/mo
RSS reader with rules, filters and keyword monitoring.
- Only Inoreader lists a browser extension.
- Flipboard also covers bookmarks.
- Inoreader also covers rSS reader and highlights.
- 3.0GPA
NewsBlur
Free plan · from $36/yr
Open-source RSS reader with trainable story filters.
- NewsBlur is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Flipboard also covers bookmarks.
- NewsBlur also covers rSS reader.
- 2.4GPA
Feeder
Free plan · from $7.99/mo
RSS reader and news monitor for the web, browser and mobile.
- Only Feeder lists a browser extension.
- Flipboard also covers read later and bookmarks.
- Feeder also covers rSS reader.
Part 07 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
17
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Flipboard free?
Yes. Flipboard is free to use.
How much does Flipboard cost?
Flipboard lists one plan. Free: $0.
What platforms does Flipboard work on?
Flipboard is available on Web, iOS and Android.
How is Flipboard rated?
Flipboard's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.7 out of 5 from 329,002 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 7, 2026.
Is Flipboard any good?
We have not tested Flipboard, so this is what reviewers say. Often praised: Several reviewers have used it for years, some of them almost daily, and call it the news reader they liked best even while complaining about recent changes.
Does Flipboard have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. Flipboard is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does Flipboard have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. Flipboard is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is Flipboard open source?
Flipboard is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 5, 2026.
What does Flipboard integrate with?
Flipboard's listing names Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Who makes Flipboard?
Flipboard is made by Flipboard Inc. Privately held.
What are the alternatives to Flipboard?
The closest alternatives to Flipboard in our directory are Feedly, Inoreader, NewsBlur and Feeder.
How do I close a Flipboard account?
There is no paid plan to cancel. An account is deleted from the app or the website: on the web you open the profile menu, go to Settings, choose Delete account and confirm with your username and password.
What happens to my data if I leave Flipboard?
The help article says that once an account is deleted, the profile, magazines, comments, likes, follows, followers and setting preferences are all removed permanently, and warns there is no undo.
How do I contact Flipboard support?
Flipboard's pages list these ways to get help: email and help centre. No live chat or phone was listed, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
How does Flipboard compare with other read-later and bookmark apps?
Flipboard's GPA of 3.2 is higher than 32 of the 36 other read-later and bookmark apps we grade, and level with 4.
Is Flipboard good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Flipboard A for value for money. Flipboard has no paid plan.
Could I make my own version of Flipboard?
Flipboard is free, so making your own would save you nothing. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 3.2 is higher than 32 of the 36 other read-later and bookmark apps we grade.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Flipboard’s own pages on Oct 5, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Flipboard's own pages on 5 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-09-07.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Flipboard Inc. Prices change, so check flipboard.com before you buy.
Part 08 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Flipboard, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/flipboard
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Flipboard: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 5, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/flipboard
Know someone choosing between read-later and bookmark apps?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/flipboard/guide
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See our other guides
The best-graded read-later and bookmark apps after Flipboard, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Read Later & Bookmarks Insider's GuideEvery one of the 37 read-later and bookmark apps we grade, compared
- FeedFlow Insider's GuideFree, open-source RSS reader for mobile and desktop3.2 GPA
- Miniflux Insider's GuideMinimalist open-source feed reader, self-hosted or hosted3.2 GPA
- Raindrop.io Insider's GuideBookmark manager with collections, tags and highlights3.2 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Flipboard’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Flipboard is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Flipboard Inc. Prices and plans change: check flipboard.com before you buy.