NetNewsWire vs NewsBlur
NetNewsWire and NewsBlur are both RSS reader software. NetNewsWire is open source under MIT, with 10k GitHub stars. NewsBlur is a commercial product from NewsBlur.
Which to pick
- Pick NetNewsWire when
- You use Apple devices and want a fast, free, privacy-respecting feed reader.
- Pick NewsBlur when
- You want an independent RSS reader with story filtering and the option to self-host.
Side by side
A native RSS reader for Mac and iPhone that syncs through iCloud, Feedbin, FreshRSS and other services.
An RSS reader that shows stories in the site's original layout and learns which stories you like through training filters; the code is open source.
Apple platforms only, and features are deliberately kept simple.
Essentially a one-person operation, and the interface is busy.
Production-ready (both)
Desktop app and mobile app
Cloud service, mobile app and self-hosted server
Swift
Python, Django, MongoDB and PostgreSQL
Open source, MIT (permissive)
Closed source, sold by NewsBlur
You can build it into a product you sell, as long as you keep its copyright notice.
Closed source: you use it under the maker's terms and cannot change or resell the code.
10k GitHub stars
53 Wikipedia readers a month on phones
Established: started 9 years ago, latest release mac-7.2.1.
Not known
Other comparisons
More RSS readers
Both sides were judged on 2026-11-03 from makers' descriptions, Wikipedia, READMEs and GitHub data. License, age and popularity lines are worked out directly.