NetNewsWire
Free, open-source RSS feed reader for macOS and iOS by Brent Simmons.
Liked as a free, open-source RSS reader for Mac and iOS123 that commenters rely on daily, sometimes paired with self-hosted FreshRSS for sync.45678 The most common complaint is that some feeds fail to add during discovery,910 with others noting articles disappear unless favorited and older 6.x releases are losing support.1112
Why people recommend it
Reliable daily use · 3
Commenters use it as their daily reader, some for many years, without problems.
“I use for the last many years NetNewsWire and have never had any problems reading the news I want to read.”
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“Best RSS reader I have used on iOS.”
Free and open source · 3
It is free and open source, and the project asks users not to send money.
“I use NetNewsWire. It’s free, open-source, and explicitly says not to send money.”
“I finally switched to NetNewsWire as the front end and FreshRSS on the backend, and could not be happier.”
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“I just star articles in my RSS newsreader - NetNewsWire free and open source for the Mac and iOS”
Apple platforms · 3
Recommended for Apple device users and called the best RSS reader on iOS.
“Highly recommend NetNewsWire”
“Best RSS reader I have used on iOS.”
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“I love NNW, especially the new iteration since Brent got it back.”
FreshRSS sync · 2
Works as a front end with self-hosted FreshRSS to sync subscriptions across devices.
“I finally switched to NetNewsWire as the front end and FreshRSS on the backend, and could not be happier.”
“I use netnewswire as my client”
Thoughtful details · 2
Pasting a YouTube channel URL creates a feed, in line with its quality-first philosophy.
“I love NNW, especially the new iteration since Brent got it back.”
Improved performance · 1
Recent updates substantially improved performance on iOS and macOS.
“Highly recommend NetNewsWire”
Caveats and dissent
Feed discovery · 2
Some feeds could not be added, possibly due to multiple requests during discovery.
“NetNewsWire can't find that feed.”
Article retention · 1
Articles are removed when they leave the source feed unless favorited.
“Thank you Mr. Brent Simmons and the contributors for a great program.”
Older version support · 1
Support is ending for the 6.x release used by those staying off macOS Tahoe.
“NetNewsWire has already announced that they will no longer support the earlier 6.x release that I use.”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
From the makers not counted in the ranking
“My hope for retirement was to get a lot of work done on NetNewsWire.”
Threads where it came up
- NetNewsWire Turns 23 7 mentions
- NetNewsWire Status 4 mentions
- How Google helped destroy adoption of RSS feeds (2023) 2 mentions
- Topics, Not Feeds 1 mention
- Show HN: HackerNows – Native iOS HN Client 1 mention
- PC Gamer Recommends RSS Readers in a 37MB Article That Just Keeps Downloading 1 mention
Data: netnewswire.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 20
“I use NetNewsWire. It’s free, open-source, and explicitly says not to send money.”
“I use for the last many years NetNewsWire and have never had any problems reading the news I want to read.”
“That's what I plan on doing with NetNewsWire.”
“Highly recommend NetNewsWire”
“Thank you Mr. Brent Simmons and the contributors for a great program.”
“Best RSS reader I have used on iOS.”
“This app is my daily driver! Love it”
“While I would prefer to read my news in NetNewsWire”
“NetNewsWire can't find that feed.”
“But NetNewsWire is still awesome.”
“i love it, no idea it was 23 years old!”
“I love the philosophy page”
“NetNewsWire has already announced that they will no longer support the earlier 6.x release that I use.”
“I love NNW, especially the new iteration since Brent got it back.”
“I use NetNewsWire locally for some stuff”
“I finally switched to NetNewsWire as the front end and FreshRSS on the backend, and could not be happier.”
“I just star articles in my RSS newsreader - NetNewsWire free and open source for the Mac and iOS”
“I use netnewswire as my client”
“Apple had the best support for it, and almost put NetNewsWire out to pasture”
“keeping a separate RSS feed in NetNewsWire called People”