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NetNewsWire

A free, open-source RSS reader for Mac, iPhone and iPad from Brent Simmons.

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About NetNewsWire

NetNewsWire is one of the oldest Mac feed readers, first released in 2002 and revived as a free, open-source project led by its original creator, Brent Simmons. It shows articles from the blogs and news sites you follow and tracks what you have read, with a deliberately focused feature set: folders, smart feeds for Today, All Unread and Starred, a reader view, customisable article themes, search and single-key shortcuts. It can read feeds directly on the device, sync through iCloud, or connect to Feedbin, Feedly, BazQux, Inoreader, NewsBlur, The Old Reader and FreshRSS. On the Mac it supports multiple windows and AppleScript, and a Safari extension makes adding feeds easy. It has no ads, no tracking and no paid tier, and it is known for being fast, stable and accessible. The trade-offs are that it runs only on Apple devices and leaves out newsletters, AI features and other extras found in commercial apps.

Best for: Apple users who want a free, fast, no-nonsense native reader.

Pros and cons

What works

  • Free and open source with no ads or tracking
  • Fast, stable and accessible native apps
  • Syncs via iCloud or major feed services
  • Single-key shortcuts and AppleScript on Mac

Why people leave

  • Apple platforms only
  • Deliberately limited features: no newsletters or AI
  • Requires recent macOS and iOS versions

Top NetNewsWire alternatives

See all 5
  1. 1Reeder logo
    Reeder

    Polished Apple-only reader with a unified timeline for feeds, videos and social posts.

    66.5
  2. 2Unread logo
    Unread

    Beautiful typography and automatic full text, with free sync and optional Premium.

    62.6
  3. 3ReadKit logo
    ReadKit

    Combines RSS and read-later services in one Apple app.

    59.6
  4. 4Vienna logo
    Vienna

    Another free, open-source native Mac reader with more configuration options.

    57.2
  5. 5Fiery Feeds logo
    Fiery Feeds

    Power-user feature set for iPhone, iPad and Mac with many layouts.

    55.3

Why people left NetNewsWire

In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.

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NetNewsWire: common questions

Is NetNewsWire free?

Yes. NetNewsWire is free, open-source software.

Is NetNewsWire open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub at Ranchero-Software/NetNewsWire.

What platforms does NetNewsWire run on?

NetNewsWire is available for macOS and iOS.

What are the best alternatives to NetNewsWire?

The highest-ranked NetNewsWire alternatives right now are Reeder, Unread and ReadKit. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 5 NetNewsWire alternatives