FreshRSS vs NetNewsWire
FreshRSS and NetNewsWire are both RSS reader software. FreshRSS is open source under AGPL-3.0, with 16k GitHub stars. NetNewsWire is open source under MIT, with 10k GitHub stars.
Which to pick
- Pick FreshRSS when
- You want your own feed server that syncs read state across phone and desktop apps, on cheap PHP hosting.
- Pick NetNewsWire when
- You use Apple devices and want a fast, free, privacy-respecting feed reader.
Side by side
A self-hosted RSS and Atom aggregator in PHP with multi-user support, WebSub, extensions and APIs that mobile reader apps can sync with.
A native RSS reader for Mac and iPhone that syncs through iCloud, Feedbin, FreshRSS and other services.
You run and update the server yourself, and the default UI looks dated.
Apple platforms only, and features are deliberately kept simple.
Production-ready (both)
Self-hosted server
Desktop app and mobile app
PHP, SQLite, PostgreSQL and MySQL
Swift
Open source, AGPL-3.0 (network copyleft)
Open source, MIT (permissive)
Use inside your business is unrestricted. If you change it and let customers use it over the internet, you must publish your changes.
You can build it into a product you sell, as long as you keep its copyright notice.
16k GitHub stars
10k GitHub stars
Established: started 14 years ago, latest release 1.30.4.
Established: started 9 years ago, latest release mac-7.2.1.
Other comparisons
More RSS readers
Both sides were judged on 2026-11-03 from each project's README and GitHub data. License, age and popularity lines are worked out directly.