Top 5 Free Online RSS Readers

Get updates from all your favorite websites in one app

By
Daniel Nations
Daniel Nations
Daniel Nations
Writer
  • University of Texas at Arlington
Daniel Nations has been a tech journalist since 1994. His work has appeared in Computer Currents, The Examiner, and other publications. He is a developer who has published apps in the Apple App Store, Google Play marketplace and Amazon Appstore; he also has worked as a data analyst and DB administrator.
lifewire's editorial guidelines
Updated on June 10, 2021
Reviewed by
Jessica Kormos
Jessica Kormos
Reviewed by Jessica Kormos
  • Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
Jessica Kormos is a writer and editor with 15 years' experience writing articles, copy, and UX content for Tecca.com, Rosenfeld Media, and many others.
lifewire's editorial guidelines

If you love to read information from a variety of websites and blogs online, you can customize and streamline your entire reading experience with an online RSS reader. When you subscribe to the RSS feeds of the sites you read, the reader automatically pulls recently updated posts from those sites. This saves you the time and energy of visiting each site individually.

01
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The Feedly online RSS reader
What We Like

  • Free to use.

  • Feeds are shareable.

  • Variety of layouts available.

  • Offers feeds based on interest.

What We Don't Like

  • Many advanced features are not free.

  • Difficult to sort or organize feeds.

  • Requires third party account.

Feedly is probably the most popular reader in use, offering a beautiful reading experience (with images) for more than simple RSS subscriptions. You can also use it to keep up with your YouTube channel subscriptions, receive keyword alerts from Google Alerts, create collections to make lengthy information easier to get through, and use it to access your company's private business portals.

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Best Third-Party Integration: NewsBlur

The NewsBlur online RSS reader
What We Like

  • Available for web and mobile.

  • Free plan available.

  • Affordable premium plan.

  • Quality user interface.

What We Don't Like

  • Free plan is limited to 64 sites.

  • Interface can get cluttered.

  • Complicated to customize.

NewsBlur is another popular RSS reader that brings you articles from your favorite websites while maintaining the style of the original site. Easily organize your stories with categories and tags, hide stories you don't like, and highlight stories you do like. You can also take a look at some of the third-party apps NewsBlur can be integrated with for more versatility.

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Best Mobile Online RSS Reader: Inoreader

The Inoreader online RSS reader
What We Like

  • Easy to use.

  • Effective search feature.

  • Available mobile apps.

  • Automate tagging and organizing.

What We Don't Like

  • Advanced features are not free.

  • Free version has ads.

If you're stressed for time and need a reader that's built for scanning and consuming information quickly, Inoreader is worth checking out. The mobile apps are designed with visual appeal in mind, so you don't waste your time reading through too much text. You can also use Inoreader to track specific keywords, save web pages for later, and subscribe to social feeds.

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The Old Reader online RSS reader
What We Like

  • Simple to use.

  • Straightforward interface.

  • Beautiful reader pane.

  • Integrated social sharing.

What We Don't Like

  • No mobile app.

  • Not as customizable as other apps.

  • Limited features.

The Old Reader is another great reader that has a slick and minimal look. It's free to use for up to 100 RSS feeds, and if you decide to connect your Facebook or Google account, you can see if any of your friends are using it too so that you can follow them.

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Best RSS Feed Browser Extension: Feeder

The Feeder online RSS reader
What We Like

  • Recommends feeds by interest.

  • Easy to use.

  • Embedded browser.

  • Folder-based organization.

What We Don't Like

  • Free version includes ads.

  • Free version only updates every 2 hours.

  • Limited features.

Feeder is an RSS reader that has been praised for its easy reading experience. It also comes in the form of a Google Chrome extension and a Safari extension so that you can subscribe and access feeds while you're browsing the web. It's also enhanced for mobile with a dedicated iOS app and a responsive web version for Android or Windows Phone users.

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