Heartfeed RSS Reader vs FlowReader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Heartfeed RSS Reader
This app offers an efficient, no-nonsense way to read news from RSS, Atom, and JSON feeds without requiring account setup or server reliance. It features a compact grid view, background feed refreshing, and seamless syncing across iOS devices via iCloud.
- Compact grid view for feeds
- Internal browser with content blocker support
- Automatic iCloud sync for feeds and read status
- Quick pick list for selecting news items
- Background feed refresh and caching
- Bookmark management with iCloud sync
- Night mode theme
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Do you want to read your news using RSS/Atom/JSON feeds in the most efficient, no-nonsense way, and with no requirement to setup an app-specific user account or relying on a server? If you do, Heartfeed might be the app for you. Features: - A compact grid view for your feeds, making it easy to check all of them at once - When reading news in the internal browser, full support of your configured content blockers, saved passwords, etc. - Automatic synching of subscribed feeds and read status between iOS devices (requires an iCloud account) - Quick pick list: Easily select which news items from different feeds you want to read - Background refresh of feeds: Some feeds refresh often and you then risk missing news in case the app is not used frequently. Background refresh, together with caching of the last 50 news items in each feed, prevents this from happening - Bookmarks, including reading them from either inside Heartfeed or from any iOS or macOS browser (requires an iCloud account) - Night mode theme - Subscribing to feeds from the current Heartfeed top list, from files, or directly from the web - Full support for split views and multi-tasking on iPads - No tracking of usage or personal data; optionally, you can anonymously share which feeds you subscribe to for improving the builtin top list of recommended feeds The app is 100% free and without ads. If you want to tip me somethings as thanks for the app, you can do so within the settings. I hope you'll enjoy using Heartfeed!
FlowReader
Stay updated with your favorite news and blogs through a powerful RSS feed reader. Easily add unlimited feeds, save articles, and customize the app's appearance. Enjoy a convenient daily news experience with features like an in-app browser and reader mode.
- Add unlimited RSS feeds
- Save articles to favorites
- In-app browser
- Safari reader mode support
- Share links on social media
- Local news storage
- Customizable appearance
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Add your personal news and blog feeds, and keep up to date with the new information. It is convenient daily news reader, which provides powerful news aggregation and curation features. FlowReader features: • Absolutely free • Add unlimited number of feeds • Add news & articles to favourites by swipe • Open links using the in-app browser • Supporting of Safari reader mode • Share links on social networks • Pull to refresh for updating the list of news • Store news locally on your device • Choose appearance of application
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Heartfeed RSS Reader at 4.8 against FlowReader's 4.0. Heartfeed RSS Reader also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 57 months) and ratings volume (90 vs 4). FlowReader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and review sentiment (100% vs 89%). On price, ads, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Heartfeed RSS Reader sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. FlowReader asks for nothing beyond the download.
Heartfeed RSS Reader holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Heartfeed RSS Reader has 90 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 89% of Heartfeed RSS Reader's written reviews are positive against 100% of FlowReader's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Heartfeed RSS Reader ships an update every 2 months, FlowReader every 57 months. The most recent releases landed on September 12, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Heartfeed RSS Reader | FlowReader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (90 ratings) — better | 4.0 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 89.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 90 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 57 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 41 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ozymandias | Sultan Irkaliyev |
Customer experience
Heartfeed RSS Reader
FlowReader
Bugs and requests
Heartfeed RSS Reader
Reported bugs
6 issues- App crashes on launch
- Crashes after adding feeds
- Multiple crashes during normal usage
- App fails to start after recent updates
- iCloud syncing issues (requires troubleshooting)
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- Bright reader screen conflicts with dark mode setting
Requested features
13 requests- Search functionality with highlighting across feeds
- Individual mark-as-read buttons per feed
- Thumbnail images in grid view
- Apple Watch app support
- Offline reading capability
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- Multi-language support including RTL scripts
- Integration with Feedly and other accounts
- Preserve feed groups on OPML import
- Dark mode for reader screen
- Feed discovery page with popular feeds index
- Ability to save/bookmark articles
- Variable font sizes in grid view
- Apple News+ integration
FlowReader
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Heartfeed RSS Reader
- Tipping the developer$0.99
- Unlimited feeds$2.99
- Tipping the developer$2.99
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- Even more tip to the developer$9.99
- Maximum tip to the developer$24.99
FlowReader
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Heartfeed RSS Reader free?
Is FlowReader free?
Which has better reviews, Heartfeed RSS Reader or FlowReader?
Do Heartfeed RSS Reader or FlowReader have ads?
Which is updated more often, Heartfeed RSS Reader or FlowReader?
Other comparisons
