# Alternatives to NetNewsWire

Free native Apple reader, beautifully done.

NetNewsWire ranks #11 of 11 in RSS readers, with an Alt Score of 28. It is licensed under MIT, free and available on iOS and macOS. 4 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/netnewswire/
Category: RSS readers

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: NetNewsWire is for Mac, iPhone, and iPad users who want to follow blogs and news sites via RSS instead of relying on social media algorithms or news aggregator platforms.
- **What you get**: A free, open-source, native RSS reader with a fast, ad-free reading experience. It includes smart feeds (like Today and All Unread), a built-in reader view, article search and starring, OPML import/export, and a Safari extension for one-click subscribing. On Mac it also supports multiple windows, a customizable toolbar, and AppleScript automation.
- **How it works**: You subscribe to RSS/Atom feeds (or import an OPML file of existing subscriptions), and NetNewsWire fetches new articles into a unified, read/unread-tracked timeline. It can sync feeds and reading status across devices via iCloud or third-party services like Feedbin, Feedly, Inoreader, NewsBlur, BazQux, FreshRSS, or The Old Reader.

## Profile

- **License**: MIT (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Pricing model**: Free (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Starts at**: ?
- **Platforms**: iOS, macOS
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-11)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [NewsBlur](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/newsblur.md) | 86 | MIT | Web, iOS, Android, macOS |
| 2 | [FreshRSS](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/freshrss.md) | 82 | AGPL-3.0 | Web |
| 3 | [Miniflux](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/miniflux.md) | 82 | Apache-2.0 | Web, iOS, Android |
| 4 | [Tiny Tiny RSS](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/tiny-tiny-rss.md) | 82 | GPL-3.0 | Web |
| 5 | [Feedbin](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/feedbin.md) | 78 | MIT | Web, iOS |
| 6 | [Inoreader](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/inoreader.md) | 73 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 7 | [Folo](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/folo.md) | 64 | AGPL-3.0 | Web, iOS, Android, Windows |
| 8 | [Feedly](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/feedly.md) | 50 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 9 | [Reeder](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/reeder.md) | 50 | Proprietary | iOS, macOS |
| 10 | [The Old Reader](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/the-old-reader.md) | 50 | ? | ? |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| RSS readers checklist | NetNewsWire | NewsBlur | FreshRSS | Miniflux | Tiny Tiny RSS | Feedbin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free | Freemium | Free | OSS + paid hosting | Free | Subscription |
| Starts at | ? | $36/year | ? | $15/year | ? | $70/year |
| License | MIT | MIT | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Platforms | iOS, macOS | Web, iOS, Android, macOS | Web | Web, iOS, Android | Web | Web, iOS |
| Feed limit (free) | ? | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Full-text extraction | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Keyboard navigation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rules & filters | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Newsletter ingestion (email address) | ? | Yes | Partial | ? | No | Yes |
| Offline reading | ? | Partial | ? | Partial | ? | ? |
| Tagging | ? | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes |
| API | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Podcast support | ? | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes |

## Sources

Sources for NetNewsWire. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **License**: MIT — <https://github.com/Ranchero-Software/NetNewsWire/blob/main/LICENSE> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “MIT License”
- **Pricing model**: Free — <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/netnewswire-rss-reader/id1480640210> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Free”
- **Platforms**: iOS, macOS — <https://github.com/Ranchero-Software/NetNewsWire> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “NetNewsWire is a free and open-source feed reader for macOS and iOS.”
- **Status**: active — <https://github.com/Ranchero-Software/NetNewsWire/releases> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “NetNewsWire 7.1.1 for Mac”
- **Full-text extraction**: Yes — <https://netnewswire.com/help/mac/6.1/en/getting-started.html> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “If you don't see all of an article, use Reader View.”
- **Keyboard navigation**: Yes — <https://netnewswire.com/help/mac/6.1/en/keyboard-shortcuts.html> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “You can use keyboard shortcuts to read and navigate the NetNewsWire interface.”
- **Rules & filters**: No — <https://netnewswire.com/help/ios/6.0/en/filters.html> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “NetNewsWire can filter out stuff you've already seen, and only show you what's unread.”
- **Self-hostable**: No — <https://netnewswire.com/frequently-asked-questions.html> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “NetNewsWire 6 supports Feedbin, Feedly, Inoreader, BazQux, Inoreader, NewsBlur, The Old Reader, and FreshRSS. It also syncs via iCloud.”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/