# Unread vs lire

The clearest difference is price: Unread at Free against lire's $9.99. lire's advantage is chart position (#4 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Unread is free to download; lire costs $9.99 up front. Unread sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and lire sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Unread holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 442 and 151 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of Unread's written reviews are positive against 68% of lire's.

Unread ships an update every 8 days, lire fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Unread | lire |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $9.99 |
| Rating | **[4.6 (442 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/unread-an-rss-reader/id1363637349/reviews)** | [4.4 (151 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lire-rss-reader/id1531976425/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **442** | 151 |
| Positive reviews | **72.4% of reviews** | 68.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 8 days** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | **#4** |
| Size | 39 MB | 160 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Golden Hill Software](https://appshunter.io/developer/404445480) | [Kunal Sood](https://appshunter.io/developer/542137548) |

## 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


### lire

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lire-rss-reader/id1531976425)

**Currently charting:** #4 Top Paid · News (US App Store)

This app provides full-text RSS feeds, converting partial feeds into complete articles. Read content offline after initial caching. It offers standalone use or syncs with iCloud and various popular RSS services.

**Highlights:** Full-text RSS feed conversion, Offline reading of cached feeds, Standalone feed reader, iCloud sync, Sync with multiple RSS services

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Generous Tip | $0.99 | one-time |
| Massive Tip | $1.99 | one-time |
| Amazing Tip | $4.99 | one-time |
| Humongous Tip | $9.99 | one-time |
| Stupendous Tip | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fast full-text parsing
- 👍 Highly customizable
- 🔒 No data collection
- 💡 Bionic reading support
- 👍 Excellent accessibility

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes
- 🐛 Sync issues
- 🐛 Memory management problems
- 🐛 Buggy after updates
- 🐛 Inconsistent article rendering

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes on launch
- Incorrect feed display
- Articles not opening
- Overlapping UI elements
- Sync errors with FreshRSS and Wallabag

**Requested features**

- Bulk unsubscribe option
- Ability to add multiple feeds at once
- Custom keyword filtering
- Highlight/annotate articles
- Embedded video support


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Unread free?

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

### Is lire free?

lire costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

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

Unread is rated higher. Unread averages 4.6 out of 5 from 442 ratings, while lire averages 4.4 from 151 ratings.

### Do Unread or lire have ads?

Neither Unread nor lire shows ads.

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

Unread ships an update every 8 days, and lire fortnightly. Most recently, Unread was updated on September 21, 2026 and lire on September 23, 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.*