# Newsboat review (2026): is it any good? > Free RSS and Atom feed reader that runs in the terminal Checked Nov 12, 2026 ยท graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA. Newsboat is a text-console feed reader for Unix-like systems, and an actively maintained fork of Newsbeuter. It renders articles in the terminal, filters and groups them with a query language, and can send links to bookmarking scripts. It can also act as a client for several online feed services. - **Category:** Read Later & Bookmarks - **Made by:** Newsboat project - **Website:** https://newsboat.org - **Runs on:** Linux, macOS - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you want a point-and-click app, because it's text only. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 12, 2026, Newsboat is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** None. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Free | $0 | Free software under the MIT license, distributed as source and through package managers; no paid plans. | Read from https://newsboat.org on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Newsboat before buying. ## Key features - **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. ## Good for - Terminal users who live in a shell all day - People who want to script how feeds are filtered and saved - Readers who keep feeds on a server and read them from a console ## Worth knowing - 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. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.8 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. Newsboat is a free, open-source RSS reader that runs in the terminal, with filters, macros, podcast support and sync with services like Feedbin and Miniflux. It's set up through a config file and key bindings, so expect some editing. It has no graphical, web or phone version. - **Value for money: A.** Free under the MIT license, distributed as source and through package managers, against a $2.50 start for the cheaper quarter of reading apps. - **Free plan and trial: A.** The whole program is free, with no paid plans and nothing held back. - **Features: B.** Filters, 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. - **Ease of use: D.** No rating on record. It's a command-line program set up by config file and key bindings, which takes some editing. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Linux and macOS, plus FreeBSD per the docs, and text only. No Windows, graphical, web or phone version. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Newsboat's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among read-later and bookmark apps - Newsboat's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 28 of the 52 other read-later and bookmark apps we grade, and level with 6. - It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 38 of 52) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0). - Newsboat has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/reading ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** Newsboat is free, so making your own would save you nothing. - You could make: RSS reader and bookmarks: an app builder makes these well. - You could not: A real app for macOS and Linux. Something home-made would be a web page. - You could not: It plugs into other products, The Old Reader, NewsBlur and Feedbin among them. - You could not: The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with The Old Reader, NewsBlur, Feedbin, FreshRSS, Tiny Tiny RSS, Inoreader, Miniflux, BazQux Reader **Tags:** RSS reader, Open source, Keyboard-first, Bookmarks ## Alternatives - [RSS Guard](https://toolgpa.com/tools/rss-guard): Open-source desktop feed reader and podcast player. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/newsboat-vs-rss-guard) - [Miniflux](https://toolgpa.com/tools/miniflux): Minimalist open-source feed reader, self-hosted or hosted. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/miniflux-vs-newsboat) - [FreshRSS](https://toolgpa.com/tools/freshrss): Free, self-hosted RSS and Atom feed aggregator. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/freshrss-vs-newsboat) - [Tiny Tiny RSS](https://toolgpa.com/tools/tiny-tiny-rss): Free, self-hosted web feed reader with filters and plugins. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/newsboat-vs-tiny-tiny-rss) - [Fluent Reader](https://toolgpa.com/tools/fluent-reader): Open-source desktop RSS reader for Windows, Mac and Linux. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/fluent-reader-vs-newsboat) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026: - https://newsboat.org - https://newsboat.org/releases/2.45.1/docs/newsboat.html - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/newsboat/newsboat/master/README.md - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/newsboat/newsboat/master/LICENSE Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/newsboat Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).