# RSS Service (see also: [[grimoire/RSS|RSS]]) ## Summary I used to pay for Feedly Pro. I'm not enthused about their [support of strikebreaking](https://www.citationneeded.news/feedly-launches-strikebreaking-as/). Update Feb 2025: I ended up digging up my old Newsblur account, and starting a subscription with them. It's ok so far. Update Oct 2025: NewsBlur is just annoying enough that I want to switch to something else. The iPhone app is bad (I noticed it was marking things read that I had definitely not seen), and some of the UI choices across both iOS and web are incorrect (the arrow icon next to a folder should expand/collapse the folder, not open the context menu). I started a subscription with CloudBreak, a managed host for FreshRSS. Significantly cheaper than NewsBlur or any of the "premium" RSS services I saw. Still looking for the perfect reader setup, but glad that can be a separate decision! ## TODO The current FreshRSS service at CloudBreak does not have a YouTube extension. Per their FAQ, > We currently do not support installing custom extensions for security and stability reasons. However, if you have a specific extension request, you can submit it through our [feature request form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeNEFwFRUTbWAjDvHvrh6tCMlBDGDAAsiH9OHkxveLzmpEsRA/viewform). We regularly review these requests and may add popular extensions in the future. So the thing to do is either request the extension, or start self-hosting my own copy. ## Hosting FreshRSS and Tiny Tiny RSS see https://github.com/kinduff/ansible-docker-freshrss and that repo has something in its `meta/main.yml` called a "galaxy". Searching the web for "Ansible Galaxy" reveals a whole package manager system, woah. ## Requirements It's hard to pin down a whole set of features that I want. I've tried a few services and have noticed things I don't like about them. Mostly the issue is with the feed _reader_ as opposed to the feed _service_. A feed service that can check for new posts, reliably deduplicate them, cache things for faster retrieval etc, that seems like a solved problem. At least I haven't had any issue with this "backend" in the several services I've tried. I'm much more particular about the feed reader though. 1. I need to be able to read from a Linux laptop, an iPhone, and an Android tablet. Any of these could be through a web browser. 2. The main reading view must have easy controls for "unread only vs all" and "oldest vs newest first" 3. The reader must reliably mark items read that I have read, and not mark items read that I have not read (didn't realize I had to spell this one out, but here we are) 4. The reader must leave unread items alone for up to two months. Sometimes I get a backlog, and I do still want to read the article. 5. I want to be able to browse in three different views: one with items from all feeds, one with items from a single folder of feeds, and one with items from a single feed. 1. bonus points if I can label items, then browse all items within a label 2. extra bonus points if each feed and folder have individual view/sorting settings ## Research ### The Perfect Reader There may be smartphone apps I can point to a web-based product. For instance, [this list](https://github.com/FreshRSS/FreshRSS/blob/edge/README.md#apis--native-apps) works with FreshRSS. - **Linux**: The web app seems fine! - **iOS** - Reeder Classic can show me my feeds, but Youtube's don't seem to work. Not sure if this is on Reeder's end or CloudBreak's. ### The fall 2025 search for a new feed service | name | cost | web | linux | ios | android | veto? | | -------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | --- | ----- | --- | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | [NewsBlur](https://www.newsblur.com) | $99/yr | ✅ | 🚫 | ✅ | ✅ | (it's what I'm getting off of now) | | [Reeder](https://reederapp.com/) | | 🚫 | 🚫 | ✅ | 🚫 | iOS only | | [Readwise Reader](https://readwise.io/read) | $120/yr | ✅ | 🚫 | ✅ | ✅ | | | [Tapestry](https://usetapestry.com/) | | 🚫 | 🚫 | ✅ | 🚫 | iOS only | | [inoreader](https://www.inoreader.com/) | $90/yr | | | | | | | [feeeed](https://feeeed.nateparrott.com/) | | 🚫 | 🚫 | ✅ | 🚫 | iOS only | | [FreshRSS](https://freshrss.org/) | self-hosted | ✅ | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 | | | [Feedbin](https://feedbin.com/) | $60/yr | ✅ | 🚫 | ✅ | 🚫 | | | [Feedbro](https://nodetics.com/feedbro/) | free? | ✅ | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 | it's a browser extension that requires access to all browsing data | | [Tiny Tiny RSS](https://tt-rss.org/) | self-hosted | | | | | | | [The Old Reader](https://www.theoldreader.com/en/) | $200/yr | | | | | heavy on the google integration and i can't find pricing info anywhere (well, a very big plan seems to be $200/yr) | | [Omnivore](https://omnivore.app/login) | [wtf](https://docs.omnivore.app/about/pricing.html) | | | | | documentation sucks (empty pricing page) | | [Raindrop](https://raindrop.io/integrations/rss) | $28/yr | | | | | this is a bookmark manager | So we narrow the search to these. Cloud vs self-hosted: | name | price | opml | youtube | obsidian | | ------------------------------------------- | ------- | ------ | ------- | -------- | | [NewsBlur](https://www.newsblur.com) | $99/yr | in+out | yes | no? | | [Feedbin](https://feedbin.com/) | $60/yr | | | | | [inoreader](https://www.inoreader.com/) | $90/yr | | | | | [Readwise Reader](https://readwise.io/read) | $120/yr | | | | | [FreshRSS](https://freshrss.org/) | self | | | | | [Tiny Tiny RSS](https://tt-rss.org/) | self | | | | I signed up for a free trial of Feedbin and immediately bounced off because their reading view doesn't have controls for date order or whether to include read articles. Next I paid Space Bar Labs ([cloudbreak.app](https://cloudbreak.app)) to host FreshRSS for me. I'm waiting for them to finish provisioning the instance. If I like it, I can probably self-host it, but I don't need to rush to set up my home server! (Initially purchased on 26 October 2025). ### Prior to fall 2025 Here are some alternatives I've been recommended: - [Reeder](https://reederapp.com/) - [Readwise Reader](https://readwise.io/read)? - Project Tapestry https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/iconfactory/project-tapestry - [inoreader](https://www.inoreader.com/) - https://feeeed.nateparrott.com/ - self-host https://github.com/FreshRSS/FreshRSS - Feedbin - FeedBro - Tiny Tiny RSS https://tt-rss.org/ - Newsblur https://www.newsblur.com/ (buggy web experience though?) (rec'd by [Cory Doctorow](https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/16/keep-it-really-simple-stupid/)) - https://theoldreader.com/ - https://omnivore.app//login - Raindrop? - more from [here](https://lighthouseapp.io/blog/feed-reader-deep-dive)?