Heartfeed RSS Reader vs Feed Viewer
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!
Feed Viewer
This app aggregates news from your chosen RSS feeds and converts them into daily podcasts. It functions as a full-text reader, even when offline, and offers synchronization across multiple Apple devices and Windows.
- Full-text RSS reader
- Offline reading capability
- News podcasts from feeds
- Cross-device synchronization
- RSS feed search
- OPML import
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Feed Viewer is an RSS reader with a news widget for iPhone/iPad/Mac and a personal podcast news app. It is perfect for daily news delivery or as an offline reader for traveling. You’ll have a podcast compiled from your chosen sources, ready for you to listen to every day. Product features: • Full-text RSS reader, even offline • News podcasts from the content of your RSS feeds • iOS ↔ iPadOS ↔ macOS ↔ Windows synchronization • RSS feed search • OPML import Terms of use (EULA): https://www.feedviewer.app/termsofuse
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Heartfeed RSS Reader at 89% against Feed Viewer's 0%. Heartfeed RSS Reader also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.0) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Feed Viewer's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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 and Feed Viewer sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Heartfeed RSS Reader holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Heartfeed RSS Reader has 90 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of Heartfeed RSS Reader's written reviews are positive against 0% of Feed Viewer's.
Heartfeed RSS Reader ships an update every 2 months, Feed Viewer every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 12, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Heartfeed RSS Reader | Feed Viewer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (90 ratings) — better | 3.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 89.0% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 90 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 37 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Ozymandias | Vaclav Dajbych |
Customer experience
Heartfeed RSS Reader
Feed Viewer
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
Feed Viewer
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
Feed Viewer
- Essential3 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Basic3 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Advanced$19.991 Month
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- Premium$24.991 Month
Questions
Is Heartfeed RSS Reader free?
Is Feed Viewer free?
Which has better reviews, Heartfeed RSS Reader or Feed Viewer?
Do Heartfeed RSS Reader or Feed Viewer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Heartfeed RSS Reader or Feed Viewer?
Other comparisons
