The Best Free Feed Readers for Windows, Mac and Linux
As I am probably not the only one to look for a feed reader I decided to share my list of those I think are the best ones.
Most people until 2013 used Google Reader for RSS (and Atom) feeds but then Google decided to shut it down.
I listed it here originally in my collection of the best free cross-platform feed readers along with alternatives. Now only the latter are left.
Cross-platform means these feed readers work on Windows, Mac and Linux.
The Web-based feed readers also work on mobile devices without the need for an app.
- The best standalone feed reader is open source software. It’s based on the Java programming language, that’s why it works on all operating systems.
- 3 of them are web based feed readers. It means they work in your browser like any website.
- 1 is an open source cross-platform mail client that can also be used for feeds.
Here is the actual list of tools. The standalone desktop program comes first:
- RSSOwl – Probably the most popular downloadable free open source RSS reader, nice clean interface, supports dozens of languages
- Feedly – Feedly, a modern web based feed reader with a magazine like display of your feeds. It adapts to your natural reading habits. Originally it required Google Reader, not anymore!
- The Old Reader – Clean and simple online tool for subscribing to your favorite feeds that is based on the early versions of Google Reader without the bloat that followed later.
- Netvibes – Netvibes is more a web based startpage than a stand alone feed reader but you can use it like one, you can share items too
- Thunderbird – The popular mail client by the Mozilla Foundation, the makers of Firefox, can also be used as a feed reader. Reading news like this saves time but can also be distracting.
Are newsreaders, feed readers, Atom and RSS readers the same? Yes and no. I prefer the term feed reader by now as they also support Atom feeds or RDF feeds. These are just other RSS-like formats.
There is an feed reader software called Feedreader. You do not want you to mix them up.
A feed reader is any tool that allows you to read feeds while Feedreader is just one brand.
I did not include Feedreader here as it only works on Windows and Linux while the online version didn’t work correctly here.
I thought you hated feeds, Tad ;).
Yes. I see you are a dilligent reader. My first draft of this post was half explanation why I changed my mind, but then I thought nobody cares and the target audience are the Google visitors anyways as you all already use RSS readers.
I you followed my last 3 or so “great blogs” posts you might have wondered how I manage to read them all without a feed reader ;-)
So finally I had to change my reading habits. And it’s all your fault! Stop writing so many different great blogs! Get a life! And give me a break! Damn blogging bastards!
Haha, I know the feeling. My bookmarks are cluttered beyond belief without having a bunch of blogs in there. I think you’ll like RSS :)
Google Reader is my current choice though I can’t review it against the other options because I haven’t tried them.
Just spent an age looking for readers – my searching has to get better. Thanks for the list.
Netvibes is the best… I honestly couldn’t live without it at this point! And I can use it on any computer no matter where I am.
[…] The best 10 RSS readers for Windows, Mac and Linux […]
RSSOwl is unlikely to be the most popular f/loss rss reader irrespective of stretches of imagination.
I’d suspect liferea would take that title, and if not then it would come second to akregator.
Help!
(Heh. I love the dramatic first-timer entry.)
I’ve been wanting to get away from Bloglines for a while now, because the number of feeds I subscribe to and the complexity of my needs is soaring.
However, almost every feature-filled application-based x-platform reader totally screws up content-rich feeds. Take RSSOwl, for example. Half the time, graphics and nice formatting disappear from feeds that look great in Bloglines.
This means I’m finding myself tied to a browser-based reader, when I’m really trying to get away from one. Can you recommend something that’s app based, but offers similar functionality to Bloglines?
You do a roundup of RSS Newsreaders for the Mac platform as well and don’t even mention NetNewsWire? Shame on you! :)
Miles: This is a cross-platform list. Thus I listed only tools that work on all three major operating systems.
So much useful information here, i really need to bookmark this site at home so i can look at it at my leisure. I dont use rss readers much myself, but my colleagues do, so i’ll pass this to them.
I use Google Reader and it’s OK for me. But thanks for your listing! Hope geeks who are looking for a solution will be glad to read your post!
I need an RSS reader that can search all the readers out there and locate by region, city, or geographical anything. I can type in keyword + Los Angeles, but that only searches for feeds with “los Angeles” + keyword in them, not RSS feeds from the Los Angeles area. Help!!!!
So much useful information here, i really need to bookmark this site at home so i can look at it at my leisure. I dont use rss readers much myself, but my colleagues do, so i’ll pass this to them.
[…] Google’s Reader (free, via your Google account) or natively within Internet Explorer (and there dozens of other RSS clients out […]
http://www.getwebreader.com
Read the web! Best rss reader!
You say you’d use Google too much, is there a possibility that you use Firefox too much as well? I suspect I am, because my Firefox takes yonks to open. Apart from the usual SEO plug-ins, I depend heavily on it for stocks as well; adding to my preferred theme of mainly black, sometimes redirecting my RSS needs to Google seems like the most logical thing to do, although I am a big fan of Sage.
Definitely agree with kyle – netvibes is the best out of the lot, great list there :)
After Google Reader died, there appeared quite a few good tools, at least 2-3 of them. I work for Flowreader. It has a clean design, is a simple organizing tool and brings me my social together with web news.
[comment edited by blog owner]