Read Across The Aisle vs NetNewsWire
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Read Across The Aisle
This app helps you break out of your social media filter bubble by providing news from diverse sources and indicating their political orientation. It tracks your reading history's political leanings and prompts you to explore different perspectives.
- Diverse news sources
- Political orientation of sources
- User reading history analysis
- Reminders to diversify reading
- Privacy-focused data handling
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Break out of your social media filter bubble with Read Across The Aisle! In the app, you can read news from a variety of sources, and it shows you the political orientation of each source. Read Across The Aisle also shows you the cumulative political orientation of your reading history. Most importantly, the app detects when you've just been reading from one side of the aisle and occasionally reminds you to check out news from another angle. --- We value your privacy and do not gather any personal information whatsoever. Of course, this means we're also not selling, renting any personal reading data (since we collect have any). What you read is your business, not ours! The political orientation rating for each source is based on public opinion polls and other data. If you have questions about ratings, or anything else, you can email us!
NetNewsWire
This app aggregates articles from your favorite blogs and news sites, offering a faster and more organized way to consume content. It provides control over your news feed, eliminating the need to visit multiple websites or rely on social media algorithms. Enjoy a streamlined reading experience with customizable features and syncing capabilities.
- Direct feed downloading
- iCloud and third-party syncing
- Customizable article themes
- Reader view
- Starred articles
- Smart feeds
- Home screen widgets
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It’s like podcasts, but for reading. NetNewsWire is a free and open source RSS reader. It shows you articles from your favorite blogs and news sites and keeps track of what you’ve read. It’s fast, stable, and accessible. If you’ve been going from site to site in your browser looking for new articles to read — or counting on the unreliable algorithms of corporate social media — let NetNewsWire bring you the news you want. It’s easy and fun. And it puts you, not billionaires, in control of your news. Features: * Direct feed downloading * Syncing via iCloud, Feedbin, Feedly, BazQux, Inoreader, NewsBlur, The Old Reader, and FreshRSS * Multiple accounts * Custom article themes * Reader view * Share sheet * Starred articles * All Unread and Today smart feeds * Folders * Importing and exporting OPML feed lists * Background refreshing * Searching * Hiding read articles * Timeline customization * Keyboard shortcuts * Context menus * Home screen widgets for today, unread, and starred articles * Share extension
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: NetNewsWire at 84% against Read Across The Aisle's 26%. NetNewsWire also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.1) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). Read Across The Aisle's advantage is iOS requirement (10.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads 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. Read Across The Aisle sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. NetNewsWire asks for nothing beyond the download.
NetNewsWire holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NetNewsWire has 890 ratings behind it against 40, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 26% of Read Across The Aisle's written reviews are positive against 84% of NetNewsWire's.
Read Across The Aisle ships an update every 40 months, NetNewsWire monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Read Across The Aisle | NetNewsWire |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.1 (40 ratings) | 4.7 (890 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 26.3% of reviews | 83.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 40 | 890 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 40 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #107 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | BeeLine Reader, Inc. | Brent Simmons |
Customer experience
Read Across The Aisle
NetNewsWire
In-app purchases
Read Across The Aisle
- Fully Unlock App$19.99
NetNewsWire
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Read Across The Aisle free?
Is NetNewsWire free?
Which has better reviews, Read Across The Aisle or NetNewsWire?
Do Read Across The Aisle or NetNewsWire have ads?
Which is updated more often, Read Across The Aisle or NetNewsWire?
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