# Unread vs Matter

Unread and Matter both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 72% of Unread's written reviews are positive against 54% of Matter's. Unread also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). Matter's advantage is chart position (#106 vs unranked). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Unread sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Matter sells 20 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Unread against 4.6 for Matter. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 442 and 1.2K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 72% of Unread's written reviews are positive against 54% of Matter's.

Unread ships an update every 8 days, Matter weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Unread | Matter |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (442 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/unread-an-rss-reader/id1363637349/reviews) | [4.6 (1.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/matter-reading-app/id1501592184/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 442 | **1.2K** |
| Positive reviews | **72.4% of reviews** | 54.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | — | **#106** |
| Size | 40 MB | 121 MB |
| Requires iOS | **18.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Golden Hill Software](https://appshunter.io/developer/404445480) | [Dig Wells, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1498971378) |

## What reviewers say

### Unread

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/unread-an-rss-reader/id1363637349)

This app is a beautifully designed RSS reader that focuses on a clean reading experience with customizable typography and themes. It offers seamless syncing across devices and integrates with various read-later services, allowing for offline access to cached content.

**Highlights:** Gesture-based navigation, Customizable color themes, Cross-device syncing, Automatic webpage text display, Offline access with caching, Integration with read-later services, Widgets for unread counts

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unread Monthly Subscription | $4.99 | per month |
| Unread Annual Subscription | $29.99 | per year |
| Unread: Free first year | $29.99 | per year |
| Unread: Discounted first year | $29.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Elegant and intuitive UI
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 🔒 Secure login integration
- 📚 Excellent article formatting and readability
- 💡 Automated full-text article retrieval

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Subscription model seen as too expensive
- 🔀 Inconsistent experience between iOS and iPad versions
- 🔍 Difficult to discover certain features
- 🔠 Lack of customization options (e.g., font, theme)

**Reported bugs**

- Occasional article duplication
- Issues with 'Keep Unread' feature
- Text formatting problems in dark mode

**Requested features**

- Add support for more RSS providers (e.g., Miniflux, FreshRSS)
- Implement keyboard shortcuts and power-user features
- Improve information density on iPad layout
- Introduce a one-time purchase option


### Matter

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/matter-reading-app/id1501592184)

**Currently charting:** #106 Top Grossing · News (US App Store)

Consolidate articles, newsletters, and PDFs into a single, elegant reading experience. Enjoy features like natural text-to-speech, fluid highlighting, and offline access. Sync your highlights to popular knowledge management tools.

**Highlights:** Save articles, newsletters, PDFs, and YouTube, Natural text-to-speech for articles, Fluid highlighting and note-taking, Sync highlights to Notion, Obsidian, Readwise, Send articles to Kindle, Unified inbox for subscriptions, Offline reading

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (20)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Matter Pro Weekly | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| Matter Premium (Monthly) | $7.99 | per month |
| Matter Premium (Monthly) | $9.99 | per month |
| Matter Pro (Monthly) | $12.99 | per month |
| Matter Premium (Monthly) | $13.99 | per month |
| Matter Premium (Monthly) | $14.99 | per month |
| Matter Premium (Monthly) | $15.99 | per month |
| Matter Premium (Monthly) | $19.99 | per month |
| Matter Pro (Annual) | $59.99 | per year |
| Matter Pro (Annual) | $59.99 | per year |
| Matter Pro (Annual) | $59.99 | per year |
| Matter Premium (Annual) | $69.99 | per year |
| Matter Premium (Annual) | $79.99 | per year |
| Matter Premium (Annual) | $79.99 | per year |
| Matter Premium | $79.99 | per year |
| Matter Pro (Annual) | $79.99 | per year |
| Matter Premium (Annual) | $99.99 | per year |
| Matter Premium | $99.99 | per year |
| Matter Patron Tier | $149.99 | one-time |
| Matter Premium (3 years) | $149.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Seamless reading experience
- 👍 Elegant and intuitive UI
- 🔊 Excellent text-to-speech functionality
- 💡 Unified inbox for newsletters and articles
- 🌟 Best read-it-later app on the market

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Concerns over privacy and data collection
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🐛 Inconsistent article parsing and formatting
- 🔍 Limited author/feed discovery options
- 🔇 Audio playback issues and bugs

**Reported bugs**

- Subscription issues and inability to cancel
- Delayed or missing newsletter delivery
- Syncing problems across devices
- Crashes and freezes on certain content

**Requested features**

- Ability to manually add blogs and RSS feeds
- Customizable highlighter colors
- Offline mode for audio playback
- Integration with more note-taking apps
- Improved search and filtering capabilities


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Unread free?

Unread is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Matter free?

Matter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Unread or Matter?

Unread and Matter are both rated 4.6 out of 5 on the App Store, from 442 and 1.2K ratings respectively.

### Do Unread or Matter have ads?

Neither Unread nor Matter shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Unread or Matter?

Unread ships an update every 8 days, and Matter weekly. Most recently, Unread was updated on October 13, 2026 and Matter on October 16, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*