Alternatives to NewsBlur
Open source reader with training
NewsBlur ranks #1 of 11 in RSS readers, with an Alt Score of 86. It is licensed under MIT, freemium from $36/year and available on Web, iOS, Android and macOS. 10 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
People who follow many RSS/news feeds and want fine-grained control over what they see, from casual readers to power users tracking hundreds or thousands of sites.
An RSS reader that lets you train 'intelligence' filters to automatically hide or highlight stories by author, tag, title, or keyword. You can read articles in their original site layout or extract full text from truncated feeds, search across your archive, and share favorite stories publicly or with friends via a personal Blurblog. It's open source (MIT license) and can be self-hosted via Docker instead of using the hosted version.
Add RSS feeds or import an OPML file, then mark stories as liked or disliked to train the intelligence filters over time. NewsBlur uses that training to automatically sort incoming stories, while you read them in-app, in original-site view, or share select ones to your Blurblog.
Where NewsBlur stands out
Verified capabilities most alternatives don't have.
Why people leave NewsBlur
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
Sign in to add a reason — new reasons go through moderation before appearing.
Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the RSS readers checklist (14 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| RSS readers checklist | NewsBlur | FreshRSS | Miniflux | Tiny Tiny RSS | Feedbin | Inoreader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Feed limit (free) | ||||||
| Full-text extraction | ||||||
| Keyboard navigation | ||||||
| Rules & filters | ||||||
| Newsletter ingestion (email address) | ||||||
| Offline reading | ||||||
| Tagging | ||||||
| API | ||||||
| Self-hostable | ||||||
| Podcast support |
Every fact and feature listed for NewsBlur is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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License MIT verified 2026-07-11
The MIT License
https://github.com/samuelclay/NewsBlur/blob/main/LICENSE.md -
Starts at $36/year verified 2026-07-11
$36 /year
https://www.newsblur.com/pricing -
Pricing model Freemium verified 2026-07-11
Everything in Free, plus: Follow up to 1,024 sites, Sites updated up to 5x more often, River of News (reading by folder), Search sites and folders
https://www.newsblur.com/pricing -
Platforms Web, iOS, Android, macOS verified 2026-07-11
Native Mobile Apps - Free iOS, macOS, and Android apps jam-packed with features.
https://github.com/samuelclay/NewsBlur/blob/main/README.md -
Status active verified 2026-07-11
I wanted something that keeps playing while you keep reading. So I built a persistent mini media player.
https://forum.newsblur.com/t/a-mini-media-player-for-podcasts-audio-and-video/13425 -
Feed limit (free) Partial verified 2026-07-11
Follow up to 64 sites
https://www.newsblur.com/pricing -
Full-text extraction Partial verified 2026-07-11
When feeds only include summaries, Text view fetches the full article from the source. Clean formatting, no clutter.
https://www.newsblur.com/pricing/premium -
Keyboard navigation Yes verified 2026-07-11
Navigate everything without touching the mouse. Open feeds, scroll through stories, mark as read, save, share, train, switch views — all from the keyboard.
https://www.newsblur.com/features -
Rules & filters Yes verified 2026-07-11
Train NewsBlur to show you what you want and hide what you don't. Thumbs up an author, tag, or title keyword to highlight matching stories in green.
https://www.newsblur.com/features -
Newsletter ingestion (email address) Yes verified 2026-07-11
Forward newsletters to your unique NewsBlur email address and they appear as a feed. Train, tag, search, and organize newsletters just like any other feed.
https://www.newsblur.com/features -
Offline reading Partial verified 2026-07-11
Stories are cached locally and the iOS app uses background refresh to stay up to date even when you're not using it.
https://www.newsblur.com/features/native-apps -
Tagging Yes verified 2026-07-11
Save stories for later and organize them with custom tags. Each tag gets its own RSS feed for sharing.
https://www.newsblur.com/pricing/premium -
API Yes verified 2026-07-11
NewsBlur's API allows users to retrieve their feeds, feed counts, feed icons, feed statistics, and individual feed stories. No API key is required, but you are required to authenticate before using an
https://www.newsblur.com/api -
Self-hostable Yes verified 2026-07-11
DIY Self-Hosted
https://www.newsblur.com/pricing -
Podcast support Yes verified 2026-07-11
A lot of the sites I subscribe to have audio and video embedded directly in the stories. Podcasts, YouTube channels, news clips.
https://forum.newsblur.com/t/a-mini-media-player-for-podcasts-audio-and-video/13425
FAQ
Yes. FreshRSS, Tiny Tiny RSS and Inoreader have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
FreshRSS, Miniflux and Tiny Tiny RSS — every license claim links its source.