So.. I have been monitoring theology journals, zoology research, and motorsports news for years now. Strange combination, I agree. For the longest time, I had 40+ browser tabs open every morning, manually checking the same sites. Three weeks ago, a colleague told me to stop wasting time and get an RSS reader.
An RSS reader? What’s that?
Here’s what I found out: An RSS reader is a software program that collects and displays content from multiple websites in one central place. It uses RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds, which are automated updates from sites you choose to follow, so you can scan headlines and new content without having to visit each website individually. This saves time and helps you stay informed about your favourite blogs, news sites, and other sources.
I tested five readers with my actual workflow. 50 feeds across theology blogs, zoology publications, Formula 1 sites, YouTube channels, Substacks, and other personal interests. I stuck to free plans where available, or trial periods, since that’s where most people start. Here’s what I found.
1. FeedSpot
What it does differently
FeedSpot operates as a comprehensive content aggregation platform that extends beyond traditional RSS reading. Unlike other readers that focus solely on RSS feeds, FeedSpot maintains a 250,000+ feed directory that functions as a searchable database organized into over 1,500 niche categories. When you search for “Evangelical Theology” or “wildlife conservation,” the system returns manually ranked lists of established sources complete with subscriber counts, posting frequency, and quality metrics. Information that’s simply not available in other readers.
The platform also offers a database, classified by niche, complete with contact information for PR and marketing campaigns. This transforms FeedSpot from a personal reading tool into a business resource platform. Additionally, FeedSpot provides embeddable RSS widgets that allow you to display your curated feeds on external websites, and an RSS combiner that merges multiple feeds into single combined feeds, features absent from consumer-focused readers. (Note that: FeedSpot requires a paid subscription for continued use. It offers a 7-day free trial but no permanent free tier as of now)
Daily use
I organized 50+ feeds into folders (Theology, Zoology, Motorsports, Personal). Each morning took about 20 minutes to scan everything. The full-text search worked when I needed to find something I’d read two weeks earlier. The mobile apps (iOS and Android) sync correctly. I marked articles as read on my phone during lunch, opened my laptop later, and everything stayed synced. One thing I appreciated most was the ad-free reading experience across all plans.
What frustrated me
The platform lacks team collaboration features for managing feeds collectively. Something only a fraction of users would need, but would be convenient for content teams or agencies.
Who this works for
People starting from scratch who don’t know which sources to follow and are willing to pay a small monthly fee for the convenience. The discovery directory is the main reason to choose this over others. Also useful if you want to use the outreach database for PR campaigns, or if you need to embed RSS content on external websites using their widget system.
2. Feedly
What it does differently
Feedly’s distinguishing feature is Leo AI, which uses machine learning to understand your reading patterns through behavioral observation rather than manual training. Unlike NewsBlur’s explicit thumbs-up/thumbs-down system, Leo monitors which articles you open, save, or share, then automatically prioritizes similar content using natural language processing. As of 2025, the free tier includes basic Leo prioritization, while Leo’s advanced features like article summarization, de-duplication, mute filters, and business event tracking (funding announcements, product launches, leadership changes) require the Pro+ plan.
Feedly also offers AI Feeds, a Pro+ feature that creates smart feeds based on topics rather than sources. You can track “European AI startups” or “semiconductor export restrictions” and Leo continuously scans millions of sources to populate these feeds with relevant articles, even from publications you don’t follow. This goes beyond traditional RSS aggregation into proactive insight gathering. Feedly’s enterprise offerings provide pre-trained AI models for tracking cyber threats, vulnerabilities, market trends, and competitive intelligence, positioning Feedly as both a consumer reader and an enterprise intelligence platform.
Daily use
The reading interface is the best I tested. Articles display in a distraction-free view. The “mark as read on scroll” feature worked perfectly, no clicking required. Feedly integrates with Evernote, Pocket, OneNote, Slack, Zapier, Buffer, IFTTT, and Hootsuite for streamlined knowledge management workflows. The mobile apps (iOS and Android) match the desktop quality with perfect sync and offline reading.
What frustrated me
The free plan caps at 100 sources and 3 folders. Leo’s best features like summarization, de-duplication, advanced mute filters, business event tracking are paywalled behind Pro+. The free tier gives basic prioritization but you’ll constantly notice missing capabilities. Feedly assumes you already know your RSS URLs so there’s zero source discovery. I spent 90 minutes manually finding and adding feeds during setup, which felt tedious after experiencing FeedSpot’s directory.
Who this works for
People who already have their source list and care about interface quality and AI-powered prioritization. Leo AI works decently on the free tier for basic filtering, but serious users will want Pro+ to unlock summarization, de-duplication, and AI Feeds. Ideal for professionals monitoring specific topics or industries who value AI assistance over manual curation.
3. Inoreader
What it does differently
Inoreader’s unique strength is monitoring feeds (formerly called Active Searches), which allow you to create automated feeds based on keyword queries that search beyond your subscriptions. While traditional RSS readers only show content from feeds you’ve manually added, monitoring feeds continuously scan the web for articles matching your specified keywords, effectively turning Inoreader into a real-time search engine that delivers results as new feeds. You can monitor “primate cognition” globally, filter by language, use advanced Boolean syntax, and receive updates as articles are published anywhere on the web, even from sources you don’t follow.
The rules and automation system is the most sophisticated among consumer RSS readers. You can create conditional workflows: “If an article contains ‘Reformed theology’ AND is from Source X, then auto-tag as ‘Priority,’ mark as read, broadcast to webhook, and send push notification.” These rules process automatically on every incoming article across all feeds. Inoreader also provides permanent article storage, unlike readers that cache articles temporarily, every article from every feed remains searchable forever from the moment you subscribe, making it a data mining tool as much as a reader.
The free plan includes 150 feeds with full search functionality and ad-supported reading. The Pro plan removes ads and unlocks monitoring feeds, unlimited automation rules (free tier limited to 3), API access, Web feeds (track sites without RSS), newsletter integration, and social feed monitoring from Bluesky, Telegram, Reddit, and YouTube.
Daily use
The search is the most powerful I tested. I could search “primate cognition” across all feeds from the past six months, filter by specific sources, limit to unread articles, and add date ranges. When I needed that one Reformed theology article from August, Inoreader found it in 10 seconds. The rules system runs silently in the background once configured, articles auto-tag, auto-mark as read, and auto-broadcast based on my criteria without any manual sorting. The mobile apps (iOS and Android) work well with offline mode and an AMOLED dark theme optimized for battery life.
What frustrated me
The learning curve is genuinely super steep. It took almost two hours to set up feeds properly because there are so many configuration options. The interface looks functional but dated compared to modern polished designs. It hasn’t kept pace with modern aesthetics. For most people, 80% of Inoreader’s features are overkill. If you just want to read articles each morning without configuring automation rules, this feels unnecessarily complicated. The free plan is generous with 150 feeds and search, but monitoring feeds, unlimited rules, and social media integrations require Pro.
Who this works for
Power users managing 100-150 feeds (on free) or up to 2,500 feeds (on Pro) who need automation, monitoring feeds that search beyond their subscriptions, or permanent article archives. Essential for researchers, journalists, or intelligence analysts who need comprehensive topic monitoring across the entire web. Everyone else will find it overcomplicated for daily reading.
4. NewsBlur
What it does differently
NewsBlur’s ‘intelligence trainer’ operates on explicit manual feedback rather than algorithmic observation. You directly mark individual stories, authors, tags, or publishers as liked or disliked, and NewsBlur applies these preferences to highlight (green) or hide (red) matching content. Unlike Feedly’s black-box Leo AI, you see exactly why NewsBlur filtered each article. As of 2025, Premium Archive subscribers can train on text-based classifiers. You highlight any phrase in an article’s full text (“climate policy,” “CRISPR,” “IndyCar”), mark it as liked or disliked, and NewsBlur automatically highlights or hides future articles containing that phrase across all feeds. This granular phrase-level training doesn’t exist in other readers.
NewsBlur also offers full-text extraction for premium users, automatically fetching complete article content even when publishers only provide partial feeds. This eliminates clicking through to websites and enables offline reading with complete articles rather than summaries. The platform includes community-driven discovery. You can follow other users and see which sources they subscribe to, then adopt their curated source lists. While this social feature is underutilized in practice, it provides a human curation layer absent from algorithm-driven discovery.
Daily use
The intelligence training becomes highly accurate after consistent use. I spent a week marking stories I liked and disliked, and NewsBlur began accurately predicting my preferences, highlighting theology debates while hiding general church announcements. The mobile apps (iOS, Android, and a native macOS app) support offline reading with full downloaded content. Premium subscribers get search functionality across their entire archive and the ability to mark any story as unread forever (useful for reference material).
What frustrated me
The free plan only allows 64 feeds. The most restrictive limit I encountered. That’s workable for casual readers but inadequate for comprehensive monitoring of multiple topics. Premium unlocks 1,000 subscriptions, full-text search, and text-based intelligence training. The interface was redesigned in 2022 but still feels dated. There’s no native desktop app for Windows or Linux (only macOS), though the web interface works fine. The social discovery features remain underpopulated in niche areas like theology or motorsports.
Who this works for
People who value transparent, manual content filtering over AI automation and want full-text article extraction without clicking through to websites. The intelligence training is excellent if you’re willing to invest time teaching it your preferences. The 64-feed limit on the free plan means most users will need to upgrade to Premium for comprehensive monitoring.
5. The Old Reader
What it does differently
The Old Reader deliberately provides no modern features like no AI, no filters, no automation, no discovery tools. Articles appear in strict chronological order as published, mimicking Google Reader before it shut down in 2013. This radical simplicity is the differentiator. While every other reader competes on AI sophistication and feature richness, The Old Reader competes on not having those features. For users experiencing feature fatigue or algorithm distrust, this minimalism is the point.
The platform has no official mobile apps, only a mobile-responsive website and support for third-party apps through a Google Reader-compatible API. Apps like AARR (Another Awesome RSS Reader) for Android can sync with The Old Reader, but the experience is inferior to FeedSpot or Feedly’s native offerings. Social sharing integrates with Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), and you can recommend articles to other Old Reader users, but there’s no algorithmic feed ranking or AI-powered recommendations.
The free plan allows 100 feeds with no advanced features. Premium costs providing 500 feeds, full-text search, up to 1,000 articles per feed stored for one year, and Instapaper/Readability integration.
Daily use
The reading experience is completely distraction-free. Articles appear in a simple list chronologically. You click, read, move on. No animations, no AI highlighting, no notifications. Folder organization works intuitively with drag-and-drop. OPML import/export worked flawlessly for migrating feed lists between readers. The social sharing to Facebook and X works smoothly for users who still actively use those platforms.
What frustrated me
There’s no official mobile app from The Old Reader team, only third-party apps that support the API, and the mobile website feels clunky compared to Feedly or FeedSpot’s dedicated apps. Zero source discovery tools exist. You manually enter RSS feed URLs for everything. I spent two hours during setup finding and adding feeds individually, work that FeedSpot’s directory would have eliminated in 5 minutes. The lack of any filtering or prioritization means high-volume feeds become overwhelming.
Who this works for
People who explicitly don’t want modern features like AI filtering or automation, work primarily from a desktop computer, and have fewer than 100 feeds (or will pay for up to 500). Ideal for users nostalgic for Google Reader’s 2013-era simplicity or those who distrust algorithmic content curation and prefer pure chronological reading.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | FeedSpot | Feedly | Inoreader | NewsBlur | The Old Reader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan feeds | 7-day trial only | 100 | 150 | 64 | 100 |
| Source discovery | Searchable 250k+ feed directory | None | Basic collections | Community-driven | None |
| Smart filtering | Basic folders/search | Leo AI (basic free, advanced on Pro+) | Rules, automation, monitoring feeds | Intelligence trainer (manual) | None |
| Mobile apps | iOS/Android native | iOS/Android native | iOS/Android native | iOS/Android/macOS native | Third-party only |
| Content formats | RSS, YouTube, newsletters, podcasts, social | RSS, YouTube, newsletters, X, Reddit | RSS, social (Bluesky, Telegram, Reddit, YouTube), newsletters | RSS | RSS only |
| Setup difficulty | Easy with directory | Very easy interface | Steep learning curve | Moderate | Simple but manual |
| Best feature | 250k+ discovery directory + blogger outreach database | Leo AI + AI Feeds | 150 free feeds + Monitoring feeds + Rules | Text-based phrase intelligence training | Radical simplicity |
| Biggest limitation | No team collaboration features | No discovery, advanced Leo requires Pro+ | Complex interface | 64 feed cap on free | No mobile app, no filtering |
My Recommendation
Choose FeedSpot if:
- You don’t already know which sources to follow
- You need the 250k+ feed discovery directory to build your feed list quickly
- You want blogs, YouTube, newsletters, and podcasts aggregated in one interface
- You need blogger outreach tools with contact databases for PR campaigns
- You want to embed RSS feeds on external websites using their widget system
- You are willing to pay a small amount for these features since there’s no free tier
Choose Feedly if:
- You already have your source list ready
- You want the cleanest, most polished reading experience with excellent mobile apps
- You value AI-powered filtering that learns your preferences automatically
- You’re willing to pay for Pro+ to unlock Leo AI’s full capabilities including summarization, de-duplication, mute filters, and AI Feeds that search millions of sources beyond your subscriptions
Choose Inoreader if:
- You’re managing 100-150 feeds on a budget (free plan covers this with full search)
- You need monitoring feeds that search the entire web for keywords beyond your subscriptions
- You want advanced automation, rules, and permanent article archives
- You need API access or integration with social platforms like Bluesky, Telegram, and Reddit
- You’re comfortable with a steep learning curve and dated interface
Choose NewsBlur if:
- Community discovery appeals to you
- You want transparent, manual intelligence training rather than black-box AI
- You want full-text extraction that fetches complete articles without clicking through websites
- You need text-based phrase training to filter by specific terminology across all feeds
- 64 feeds is enough (or you’re willing to upgrade by paying)
Choose The Old Reader if:
- You work primarily from a desktop computer
- You explicitly don’t want any modern features (AI, automation, discovery)
- You’re nostalgic for Google Reader’s pre-2013 simplicity
- You distrust algorithmic curation and prefer pure chronological reading
- You have fewer than 100 feeds (or will pay for up to 500)
The Real Benefit
The biggest change wasn’t which reader I chose. It was switching from manually checking 40+ websites every morning to opening one app and seeing everything new in 20 minutes. I haven’t missed a major IndyCar announcement in three weeks. I discovered 12 new theology sources I didn’t know existed. I found a zoology publication that’s become essential reading. And I’ve spent less time on content monitoring while staying better informed. That’s the point of RSS readers. Pick one that fits your needs, set it up properly once, and stop worrying about what you might have missed.