Alternatives to Google Reader
Google's beloved RSS reader
None of its 10 checklist rows are verified yet.
Google's beloved RSS reader. Google Reader has been discontinued; the active alternatives listed here are maintained products you can switch to.
People who regularly followed many blogs, news sites, and other frequently updated web content and wanted a single place to read it all without visiting each site individually.
Google Reader aggregated posts from subscribed RSS and Atom feeds into one continuously updated stream. It tracked read/unread status, let users star and share items, organize feeds into folders, and search across subscriptions. Social features let users follow other people's shared items and see friends' activity. It was free and ran entirely in the browser.
Users subscribed to a site's RSS/Atom feed URL (or searched for feeds within Reader), and new posts from all subscriptions appeared automatically in a unified, sortable list. Google shut the service down on July 1, 2013.
Why people leave Google Reader
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
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Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Sources & verification
1
Every fact and feature listed for Google Reader is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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Status discontinued verified 2026-07-11
So, on July 1, 2013, we will retire Google Reader.
https://blog.google/company-news/inside-google/company-announcements/a-second-spring-of-cleaning/
FAQ
Yes. Feedly, Folo and FreshRSS have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Feedbin, Folo and FreshRSS — every license claim links its source.