The Folo Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Folo 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.
Folo
The Insider’s Guide
Open-source RSS reader with AI summaries and translation
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among read-later and bookmark apps, read from Folo’s own pages.
Made by Natural Selection Labs Pte. Ltd. · checked Oct 6, 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
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Folo’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Folo’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 6, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
3.0
GPA, above 22 of the 36 other read-later and bookmark apps we grade
Folo is an open-source RSS reader with built-in AI from Natural Selection Labs. It gathers blogs, news sites, newsletters, podcasts, video channels and social feeds into one timeline, and it can summarize, translate and read articles aloud or answer questions about them. It runs in the browser and on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows and Linux. The free plan is capped at 150 feed subscriptions, and three paid tiers raise the feed and AI limits.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Folo, taken from its own pages and our grades.
Adding a feed or importing an OPML file is ordinary enough.
- 1
Best for an RSS reader with AI summaries built in
Folo is an open-source RSS reader with AI that summarizes, translates, reads aloud and answers questions about what you follow, on web, phones and every desktop.
- 2
Paid plans start at $4.17 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $4.17 per month, billed yearly at $49.99 ($4.99 billed monthly).
- 3
There is a free plan
150 feed subscriptions, 30 RSSHub subscriptions, 1 list, 1 inbox, 1 action, 3 AI summaries and 1 text-to-speech a day, and no AI translation.
- 4
It runs on 6 platforms
Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android.
- 5
Feeds, RSSHub routes and inboxes
Subscribe to any RSS, Atom or JSON feed, or follow sites without a feed through RSSHub routes. OPML import and export are supported, and an inbox with its own email address receives newsletters.
- 6
AI summaries and translation
Summarizes an article on demand or automatically and shows a translation in English, Chinese, Japanese or French beside the original. Daily caps apply on the Free and Basic plans.
- 7
Folo AI
Ask questions about one article, a feed, a folder or everything you follow, and connect MCP services. Choosing the AI model and bringing your own API key start on the Plus plan.
- 8
A 3.0 GPA, above 22 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.
- 9
Keep it
To replace Folo you would be making an AI model, which you can rent by the request but not make. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Folo at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $4.17 per month, billed yearly at $49.99 ($4.99 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- Paid plans have a Start Free Trial button; the pricing page does not state the trial length
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
- Made by
- Natural Selection Labs Pte. Ltd.
- Category
- Read Later & Bookmarks
- Our grade
- 3.0 GPA, very good
The report card
Best for an RSS reader with AI summaries built in
Folo is an open-source RSS reader with AI that summarizes, translates, reads aloud and answers questions about what you follow, on web, phones and every desktop. The free plan takes 150 feeds but only 3 AI summaries a day and no translation. Unlimited AI needs Plus at $8.33 a month billed yearly, past this category's dearest tenth, the trial length isn't stated, and plans climb to $99.99 a month.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Basic is $4.17 a month billed yearly, which sits between the $3.33 middle and the $6.99 dear end for reading apps here. Plus, where unlimited AI and your own API key live, is $8.33, past the dearest tenth. Pro at $83.33 is for people following 25,000 feeds. |
| Free plan and trial | B | As a plain reader you could really live on it: 150 feed subscriptions is more than most people follow. The AI is only a taste, though, at 3 summaries and 1 text-to-speech a day with no translation, and you get 1 list, 1 inbox and 1 action. |
| Features | A | It covers the whole job and adds what the others here gate or lack: feeds, RSSHub routes for sites without one, a newsletter inbox, separate layouts for articles, social posts, pictures, videos and podcasts, then summaries, side-by-side translation, questions across everything you follow and MCP services. |
| Ease of use | C | No store rating on record, and there's a fair bit to arrange: feeds, lists, inboxes, Actions and RSSHub routes are all yours to set up, and the AI has its own settings. Adding a feed or importing an OPML file is ordinary enough. |
| Platforms and integrations | A | The full set and more: web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, with paid plans sending articles on to Obsidian, Readwise, Instapaper, Zotero and others. Linux comes only as a direct AppImage download. |
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 Folo is for
- Fits if you want summaries and translation inside your feed reader and will pay for them
- Works for people who want one reader on web, phone and desktop, Linux included, and follow sites with no feed through RSSHub
Who it is not for
- Tight if you came for the AI and won't pay, with 3 summaries and 1 text-to-speech a day and no translation on Free
- Pricey if you want to pick AI models, bring your own key or run AI tasks, as those start on Plus at $8.33 a month billed yearly
- Skip it if you just want a plain list of feeds, because most of what you'd pay for here is AI
- Tight if you're on Free and want integrations or private subscriptions, which start on Basic at $4.17 a month
- Watch out: the trial's length isn't stated, and Linux comes only as a direct AppImage download
Good to know
Good for
- Readers who want AI summaries and translation inside their feed reader
- People following sites that have no feed through RSSHub routes
- Anyone who needs one reader across web, desktop and mobile, Linux included
- People who prefer open-source software
Worth knowing
- The Free plan allows 150 feed subscriptions and 3 AI summaries a day, with no AI translation.
- Integrations, private subscriptions and the secure image proxy start on Basic; AI model selection, bring your own key and AI tasks start on Plus.
- Paid plans offer a free trial, but the pricing page does not say how long it lasts.
- The download page offers Linux only as a direct AppImage download.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$4.17
A month to start. There is a free plan too
Folo has a free plan. Paid plans start at $4.17 per month, billed yearly at $49.99 ($4.99 billed monthly).
Free
$0
150 feed subscriptions, 30 RSSHub subscriptions, 1 list, 1 inbox, 1 action, 3 AI summaries and 1 text-to-speech a day.
Basic
$4.17
per month, billed yearly ($49.99); $4.99 billed monthly
1,000 feed subscriptions, 5 lists, 10 inboxes, 5 actions, 30 AI summaries and 300 AI translations a day, private subscriptions and integrations.
Plus
$8.33
per month, billed yearly ($99.99); $9.99 billed monthly
2,500 feed subscriptions, unlimited AI summaries, translations and text-to-speech, curated AI models, bring your own key, AI tasks and 5M AI credits.
Pro
$83.33
per month, billed yearly ($999.99); $99.99 billed monthly
25,000 feed subscriptions, 100 lists, 200 inboxes, 100 actions, all high-end AI models and 50M AI credits.
The free plan
150 feed subscriptions, 30 RSSHub subscriptions, 1 list, 1 inbox, 1 action, 3 AI summaries and 1 text-to-speech a day, and no AI translation.
Trying it first
Paid plans have a Start Free Trial button; the pricing page does not state the trial length
Read from folo.is on Oct 6, 2026.
Ways to pay less
Annual discount
Save 17% with yearly billing
Folo's pricing page labels yearly billing as saving 17%: Basic is $49.99 a year against $4.99 a month, and Plus is $99.99 a year against $9.99 a month.
Stated on folo.is
What the app costs elsewhere
Each country’s App Store price for “Folo Plus (Monthly)”, against $9.99 in the United States, in dollars at the day’s rate. The four cheapest and the four dearest of 11.
| Country | Price there | In dollars | Against the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | $12.99 | $9.13 | 9% less |
| Turkey | ₺449,99 | $9.15 | 8% less |
| Indonesia | Rp 169ribu | $9.45 | 5% less |
| Philippines | ₱ 599.00 | $9.54 | about the same |
| Germany | 9,99 € | $11.19 | 12% more |
| Brazil | R$ 59,90 | $11.97 | 20% more |
| South Africa | R199.99 | $12.10 | 21% more |
| United Kingdom | £9.99 | $13.21 | 32% more |
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
6
Places it runs: Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android
Open-source RSS reader with AI summaries and translation. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: open source, AI features, chat assistant, rSS reader.
Linux comes only as a direct AppImage download.
- Feeds, RSSHub routes and inboxes
- Subscribe to any RSS, Atom or JSON feed, or follow sites without a feed through RSSHub routes. OPML import and export are supported, and an inbox with its own email address receives newsletters.
- AI summaries and translation
- Summarizes an article on demand or automatically and shows a translation in English, Chinese, Japanese or French beside the original. Daily caps apply on the Free and Basic plans.
- Folo AI
- Ask questions about one article, a feed, a folder or everything you follow, and connect MCP services. Choosing the AI model and bringing your own API key start on the Plus plan.
- Timeline summary and AI tasks
- A timeline summary condenses new entries into one digest. Scheduled AI tasks write daily or weekly briefings and deliver them to chat or email; they are included from Plus.
- Layouts for each format
- Articles, social posts, pictures, videos and podcasts each get their own layout, a reader view fetches full article text, and text-to-speech reads articles aloud.
- Actions and integrations
- Rule-based Actions filter, star, rewrite, notify or summarize new entries. Articles can be sent to Obsidian, Readwise, Instapaper, Zotero and other tools on paid plans.
Where it runs
- Web
- macOS
- Windows
- Linux
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
- Obsidian
- Readwise
- Instapaper
- Zotero
- Cubox
- Outline
- Readeck
- Eagle
Folo is made by Natural Selection Labs Pte. Ltd.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
22/36
Other read-later and bookmark apps it is graded above
Folo's GPA of 3.0 is higher than 22 of the 36 other read-later and bookmark apps we grade, and level with 9.
It stands best on features (A, above 33 of 36) and worst on ease of use (C, above 4).
Its paid plans start at $4.17 a month, against a middle price of $3 for the category: 16 of the 24 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.3 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 37 read-later and bookmark apps we grade, cut by the letter each got. Folo’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 6 of 36
- BFree plan and trialAbove 15 of 36
- AFeaturesAbove 33 of 36
- CEase of useAbove 4 of 36
- APlatforms and integrationsAbove 32 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. Folo 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
To replace Folo you would be making an AI model, which you can rent by the request but not make. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It costs $50.04 a year. Folo is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.
What you could make
- RSS reader: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- An AI model, which you can rent by the request but not make.
- Apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android that stay in step with each other.
- It plugs into other products, Obsidian, Readwise and Instapaper among them.
- The depth: we grade its features A, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Folo’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 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Feedly, Inoreader, Readwise, NewsBlur and Feeder
The 5 tools Folo 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 Folo lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- Only Feedly lists a browser extension.
- Folo is open source, according to its own site.
- 3.0GPA
Inoreader
Free plan · from $7.50/mo
RSS reader with rules, filters and keyword monitoring.
- Only Folo lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- Only Inoreader lists a browser extension.
- Folo is open source, according to its own site.
- 3.0GPA
Readwise
Free trial · from $5.59/mo
Highlight library with a daily review and a read-later app.
- Folo has a free plan. Readwise does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Folo lists a Linux app.
- Only Readwise lists a browser extension.
- 3.0GPA
NewsBlur
Free plan · from $36/yr
Open-source RSS reader with trainable story filters.
- Only Folo lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- NewsBlur is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Folo also covers chat assistant.
- 2.4GPA
Feeder
Free plan · from $7.99/mo
RSS reader and news monitor for the web, browser and mobile.
- Only Folo lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- Only Feeder lists a browser extension.
- Folo is open source, according to its own site.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
12
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 Folo free?
Folo has a free plan. 150 feed subscriptions, 30 RSSHub subscriptions, 1 list, 1 inbox, 1 action, 3 AI summaries and 1 text-to-speech a day, and no AI translation.
How much does Folo cost?
Folo lists 4 plans. Free: $0.
What platforms does Folo work on?
Folo is available on Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android.
Does Folo offer any discounts?
Folo publicly lists the following: Save 17% with yearly billing.
Is Folo open source?
Yes. Folo is open source, according to its own site.
What does Folo integrate with?
Folo's listing names Obsidian, Readwise, Instapaper, Zotero, Cubox, Outline, Readeck and Eagle.
Does Folo have a free trial?
Yes. Paid plans have a Start Free Trial button; the pricing page does not state the trial length.
Who makes Folo?
Folo is made by Natural Selection Labs Pte. Ltd.
What are the alternatives to Folo?
The closest alternatives to Folo in our directory are Feedly, Inoreader, Readwise, NewsBlur and Feeder.
How does Folo compare with other read-later and bookmark apps?
Folo's GPA of 3.0 is higher than 22 of the 36 other read-later and bookmark apps we grade, and level with 9.
Is Folo good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Folo C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $4.17 a month, against a middle price of $3 for the category: 16 of the 24 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Folo?
To replace Folo you would be making an AI model, which you can rent by the request but not make.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Folo’s own pages on Oct 6, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Folo's own pages on 6 October 2026. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-04-17.
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 Natural Selection Labs Pte. Ltd. Prices change, so check folo.is before you buy.
Part 07 · 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
- Folo, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/folo
- 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, "Folo: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 6, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/folo
Know someone choosing between read-later and bookmark apps?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/folo/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded read-later and bookmark apps after Folo, 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
- Flipboard Insider's GuideFree news aggregator built around topics and shared Magazines3.2 GPA
- Miniflux Insider's GuideMinimalist open-source feed reader, self-hosted or hosted3.2 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 Folo’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. Folo is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Natural Selection Labs Pte. Ltd. Prices and plans change: check folo.is before you buy.