The NewsBlur Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about NewsBlur 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.
NewsBlur
The Insider’s Guide
Open-source RSS reader with trainable story filters
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among read-later and bookmark apps, read from NewsBlur’s own pages.
Made by NewsBlur, 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
- 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 NewsBlur’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on NewsBlur’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
3.0
GPA, above 22 of the 36 other read-later and bookmark apps we grade
NewsBlur is an RSS and news reader for the web, iOS and Android. Its intelligence training lets readers highlight or hide stories by author, tag, title or text. Higher tiers add full-text search, feeds for sites without RSS, a permanent story archive, and AI features such as Ask AI and a daily briefing. The code is open source and can be self-hosted with Docker.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about NewsBlur, taken from its own pages and our grades.
The training itself is a thumbs up or a thumbs down, nothing more technical than that.
- 1
Best for training your own news filters
NewsBlur is an open-source RSS reader you train: thumbs up or down an author, tag or title, and stories get highlighted or faded to match.
- 2
Paid plans start at $3 a month when paid by the year
As its pricing page puts it: $36 per year (Premium).
- 3
There is a free plan
Follow up to 64 sites with real-time updates, training by author, tag and title, saved stories, a public blurblog, and the iOS and Android apps.
- 4
It runs on 3 platforms
Web, iOS and Android.
- 5
Intelligence Training
Mark authors, tags and title keywords with a thumbs up or down to highlight matching stories or fade them out. Full-text training needs Premium Archive.
- 6
Web Feeds
On Premium Archive, NewsBlur builds a feed for a web page that has no RSS by monitoring the page for changes.
- 7
Search and story archive
Premium adds full-text search across subscriptions. Premium Archive keeps every story indefinitely and back-fills the history of newly added feeds.
- 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
The plain part of NewsBlur you could make: rSS reader and read later. What surrounds it you could not. The 4 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
NewsBlur at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $36 per year (Premium)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- 30-day premium trial on every new account, no credit card required
- Runs on
- Web, iOS, Android
- Made by
- NewsBlur, Inc., since 2009
- Category
- Read Later & Bookmarks
- Our grade
- 3.0 GPA, very good
- Store rating
- 4.7 on the App Store, 507 ratings
The report card
Best for training your own news filters
NewsBlur is an open-source RSS reader you train: thumbs up or down an author, tag or title, and stories get highlighted or faded to match. Premium is $36 a year. The free plan stops at 64 sites with no search or text view, web feeds, Ask AI and the archive need $99 a year, and there's no desktop app of its own.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Premium is $36 a year, $3.00 a month, which lands in the ordinary middle band for reading apps here: above the $2.42 line for the cheapest quarter and below the $6.99 dear one. Go up for web feeds, Ask AI or the archive and Premium Archive is $99 a year, $8.25 a month, past the dearest tenth. |
| Free plan and trial | B | Free covers 64 sites with real-time updates, training and both phone apps, and every new account gets a 30-day Premium trial with no card. One person could live on that, as long as they don't need search, text view or River of News, which are paid. The open-source code is free to self-host too. |
| Features | A | It covers the whole feed-reading job and does what its rivals don't: you train it by author, tag and title, with regular expressions on the top plan, and it highlights or hides stories to match. Add newsletters by email, search, a permanent archive, feeds built for pages with no RSS, and Ask AI. |
| Ease of use | B | 4.71 from 507 App Store ratings, but we want 1,000 ratings behind a 4.7 before it earns an A. The training itself is a thumbs up or a thumbs down, nothing more technical than that. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web, iPhone and Android, with IFTTT and Zapier and an open API that Reeder, ReadKit and Unread plug into. No desktop app of its own, though, so on a computer it's the browser or somebody else's client, and that's what keeps it off an A. |
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 NewsBlur is for
- Fits if you want to train your own filters instead of trusting an algorithm
- Works for people who forward newsletters in and read them as a feed
Who it is not for
- Tight if you're staying free: 64 sites, and no search, text view or River of News
- Pricey if you want web feeds, Ask AI or the full archive, which need the $99 a year plan
- Not for you if you want a desktop app from NewsBlur itself, as it's the web or a third-party client
- Watch out: Premium and Premium Archive are sold by the year only, and Premium Pro is $29 a month
Good to know
Good for
- Readers who want to train their own filters rather than rely on an algorithm
- People who prefer open-source software or want to self-host
- Professionals who need feeds polled every few minutes
Worth knowing
- The free plan is limited to 64 sites.
- Search, River of News and text view start at Premium; web feeds, Ask AI and the archive need Premium Archive.
- Premium and Premium Archive are priced per year only, while Premium Pro is priced per month.
- Native apps are listed for iOS and Android; desktop use is through the web app or third-party clients.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$3
A month to start, paid by the year. There is a free plan too
NewsBlur has a free plan. Paid plans start at $36 per year (Premium).
One person could live on that, as long as they don't need search, text view or River of News, which are paid.
Free
$0
Follow up to 64 sites, with real-time updates, training by author, tag and title, saved stories, a public blurblog, and the mobile apps.
Self-Hosted
$0
The open-source code from GitHub, run on your own server with a single Docker command. Hosting is your own responsibility.
Premium
$36
per year
1,024 sites, feeds updated up to 5x more often, River of News, search, text view, tagged saved stories, and blurblog privacy options.
Premium Archive
$99
per year
4,096 sites, web feeds for sites without RSS, a permanent searchable archive, Ask AI, daily briefing, story clustering, and the MCP server and CLI.
Premium Pro
$29
per month
10,000 sites, every feed fetched every 5 to 15 minutes, training with regular expressions, and priority support.
The free plan
Follow up to 64 sites with real-time updates, training by author, tag and title, saved stories, a public blurblog, and the iOS and Android apps.
Trying it first
30-day premium trial on every new account, no credit card required
Read from newsblur.com on Oct 5, 2026.
What the app costs elsewhere
Each country’s App Store price for “NewsBlur Premium Subscription”, against $35.99 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | ₺127,99 | $2.60 | 93% less |
| Brazil | R$ 114,90 | $22.96 | 36% less |
| Indonesia | Rp 489ribu | $27.35 | 24% less |
| India | ₹ 2,749 | $28.42 | 21% less |
| Australia | $50.99 | $35.60 | about the same |
| Mexico | $659.00 | $36.21 | about the same |
| Germany | 36,99 € | $41.45 | 15% more |
| United Kingdom | £32.99 | $43.61 | 21% more |
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
Open-source RSS reader with trainable story filters. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: open source, self-hostable, works offline, public API, AI features, read later, rSS reader.
Add newsletters by email, search, a permanent archive, feeds built for pages with no RSS, and Ask AI.
- Intelligence Training
- Mark authors, tags and title keywords with a thumbs up or down to highlight matching stories or fade them out. Full-text training needs Premium Archive.
- Web Feeds
- On Premium Archive, NewsBlur builds a feed for a web page that has no RSS by monitoring the page for changes.
- Search and story archive
- Premium adds full-text search across subscriptions. Premium Archive keeps every story indefinitely and back-fills the history of newly added feeds.
- Ask AI and Daily Briefing
- Premium Archive can ask questions about a story using Claude, GPT, Gemini or Grok, and receives an AI-written daily summary of top stories.
- Email newsletters
- Forward newsletters to a personal NewsBlur email address and they appear as a feed that can be trained, tagged and searched like any other.
- Open source and open API
- The server and both mobile apps are open source on GitHub, and the API supports third-party clients such as Reeder, ReadKit and Unread.
Where it runs
- Web
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
- IFTTT
- Zapier
- Reeder
- ReadKit
- Unread
- Fiery Feeds
- Newsify
NewsBlur is made by NewsBlur, Inc., and has been around since 2009.
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
NewsBlur'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 value for money (C, above 6).
Its paid plans start at $3 a month when paid by the year, against a middle price of $3 for the category: 11 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. NewsBlur’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 6 of 36
- BFree plan and trialAbove 15 of 36
- AFeaturesAbove 33 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. NewsBlur 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
The plain part of NewsBlur you could make: rSS reader and read later. What surrounds it you could not. The 4 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
It costs $36 a year. NewsBlur is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.
What you could make
- RSS reader 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.
- It plugs into other products, IFTTT, Zapier and Reeder among them, and has an API.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- The depth: we grade its features A, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. NewsBlur’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, Feedbin, The Old Reader and FreshRSS
The 5 tools NewsBlur 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.
- NewsBlur is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Feedly also covers highlights.
- 3.0GPA
Inoreader
Free plan · from $7.50/mo
RSS reader with rules, filters and keyword monitoring.
- Only Inoreader lists a browser extension.
- NewsBlur is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Inoreader also covers highlights.
- 2.4GPA
Feedbin
Free trial · from $7/mo
Paid RSS reader for feeds, newsletters, podcasts and YouTube.
- NewsBlur has a free plan. Feedbin does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only NewsBlur lists an Android app.
- Only Feedbin lists a browser extension.
- 2.4GPA
The Old Reader
Free plan
Web-based RSS reader with sharing among friends.
- Only NewsBlur lists iOS and Android apps.
- NewsBlur is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- NewsBlur also covers read later.
- 3.0GPA
FreshRSS
Free
Free, self-hosted RSS and Atom feed aggregator.
- Only NewsBlur lists iOS and Android apps.
- NewsBlur also covers read later.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
16
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 NewsBlur free?
NewsBlur has a free plan. Follow up to 64 sites with real-time updates, training by author, tag and title, saved stories, a public blurblog, and the iOS and Android apps.
How much does NewsBlur cost?
NewsBlur lists 5 plans. Free: $0.
What platforms does NewsBlur work on?
NewsBlur is available on Web, iOS and Android.
How is NewsBlur rated?
NewsBlur's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.7 out of 5 from 507 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 5, 2026.
Does NewsBlur have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. NewsBlur is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does NewsBlur have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. NewsBlur is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is NewsBlur open source?
Yes. NewsBlur is open source, according to its own site.
Does NewsBlur work offline?
Yes, according to its own site. What works without a connection differs by plan and platform, so check the vendor's page for the detail.
Does NewsBlur have an API?
Yes. NewsBlur offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does NewsBlur integrate with?
NewsBlur's listing names IFTTT, Zapier, Reeder, ReadKit, Unread, Fiery Feeds and Newsify.
Does NewsBlur have a free trial?
Yes. 30-day premium trial on every new account, no credit card required.
Who makes NewsBlur?
NewsBlur is made by NewsBlur, Inc. It dates from 2009.
What are the alternatives to NewsBlur?
The closest alternatives to NewsBlur in our directory are Feedly, Inoreader, Feedbin, The Old Reader and FreshRSS.
How does NewsBlur compare with other read-later and bookmark apps?
NewsBlur'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 NewsBlur good value for money?
ToolGPA grades NewsBlur C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $3 a month when paid by the year, against a middle price of $3 for the category: 11 of the 24 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of NewsBlur?
The plain part of NewsBlur you could make: rSS reader and read later. What surrounds it you could not.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from NewsBlur’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 NewsBlur's own pages on 5 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-05-13.
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 NewsBlur, Inc. Prices change, so check newsblur.com 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
- NewsBlur, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/newsblur
- 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, "NewsBlur: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 5, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/newsblur
Know someone choosing between read-later and bookmark apps?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/newsblur/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded read-later and bookmark apps after NewsBlur, 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 NewsBlur’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. NewsBlur is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by NewsBlur, Inc. Prices and plans change: check newsblur.com before you buy.