Comparison

Elytra vs Headlines

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Elytra

A privacy-focused RSS reader for iOS and macOS that offers native article rendering, advanced search, and cross-device synchronization. It strips tracking scripts and provides customizable appearance options for a clean reading experience.

Highlights
  • Privacy-focused design
  • Native article and image rendering
  • Cross-device synchronization
  • Search within articles
  • Customizable appearance
  • Mute filters
  • Widgets
Features
Read full description

Elytra is a private RSS reader for iPhone, iPad and Mac. Follow the news sites and blogs you choose, read them in a clean native reader with every tracker stripped out, and keep everything in sync across your devices. Elytra is a paid app: every new account starts with a 14-day free trial, after which you can subscribe or buy a one-time lifetime licence. WHY ELYTRA PRIVATE BY DESIGN: Your account is created automatically. There is no email, no password and no personal information. A random account ID and anonymous crash reports are the only data Elytra uses, and only to sync your feeds and keep the app stable. NO TRACKING: Elytra removes tracking scripts and tracking pixels from every article, so what you read stays between you and your device. NATIVE READER: Articles are rendered with native iOS text and image views, not a web view. That means Dynamic Type, VoiceOver, text selection across paragraphs, syntax-highlighted code blocks and fast scrolling on long articles. SYNC: Your feeds, folders, read state and bookmarks sync across iPhone, iPad and Mac through Elytra's own service. The Mac app is a separate download on the Mac App Store. PUSH NOTIFICATIONS: Get real-time alerts from blogs that support the WebSub protocol, and near real-time local notifications from the ones that do not. FULL-TEXT ARTICLES: When a feed only ships a summary, Elytra can fetch the full article for you. SEARCH: Search for a feed, then an article, then a phrase inside the article. Elytra was the first RSS reader to search within articles. MUTE FILTERS: Hide topics, spoilers and keywords you do not want in your timeline. OPML: Import your subscriptions from another reader, and export them at any time. OFFLINE BOOKMARKS: Bookmarked articles are stored on your device, so you can read them without a connection. FEED FORMATS: RSS, Atom and JSON Feed are all supported. IMAGE LOADING: Choose when images load to save mobile data, or load them on demand. APPEARANCE: Light and dark themes, a choice of serif and sans-serif fonts, and support for custom fonts installed on your device. LINKED HEADERS: When an author links section headers, Elytra lets you share a link straight to that section. WIDGETS: Four widgets bring your favourite feeds and latest updates to your Home Screen and Lock Screen. ——— Elytra uses its own sync service and cannot connect to Feedly, Inoreader, iCloud or other RSS syncing services. ——— Terms: https://elytra.app/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://elytra.app/privacy/

About

Headlines

Stay informed with personalized news from your favorite sources. Discover and manage feeds easily, with beautiful widgets and dark mode support. Unlock advanced features like unlimited feeds and mute filters with a subscription or one-time purchase.

Highlights
  • Feed discovery and management
  • 6 beautiful widgets
  • Dark mode
  • iCloud sync
  • Unlimited feeds (premium)
  • Mute filters (premium)
  • Tags (premium)
Features
Read full description

Introducing Headlines, the easiest way to keep up with the news you care about. Choose your favorite feeds and start reading! Main features: • Easy feed discovery and management • 6 beautiful widgets • Dark mode • iCloud sync Available with Headlines+ (subscription or one-time purchase): • Unlimited feeds • Mute filters • Tags • Alternate icons Terms of Use: https://headlinesapp.co/terms

Screenshots

Elytra4 screens
Headlines4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Headlines at 4.5 against Elytra's 3.7. Headlines also leads on monetization model (freemium vs subscription) and ratings volume (53 vs 9). Elytra's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Elytra sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Headlines sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Headlines holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Headlines has 53 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 44% and 45% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Elytra ships an update fortnightly, Headlines every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Elytra versus Headlines: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterElytraHeadlines
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (9 ratings)4.5 (53 ratings) — better
Positive reviews44.4% of reviews45.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings953 — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS26.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB56 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperNikhil NigadeLuca Meghnagi

Customer experience

Elytra

All ratings9 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews45 reviews
Positive44.4%
Neutral2.2%
Negative53.3%

Headlines

All ratings53 ratings
Positive86.8%
Neutral3.8%
Negative9.4%
Written reviews40 reviews
Positive45.0%
Neutral15.0%
Negative40.0%

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Elytra

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • Pro - Monthly7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$10.491 Year
Show 1 more
  • Pro - Yearly7 Days trial$20.001 Year
One-time5
  • Free TrialFree
  • 1 Month Subscription$0.99
  • 3 Months Subscription$2.99
Show 2 more
  • 1 Year Subscription$12.99
  • Lifetime Subscription$54.99
3 purchases

Headlines

Subscriptions2
  • Month$1.991 Month
  • Year7 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$27.99

Questions

Is Elytra free?
Elytra is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Headlines free?
Headlines is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Elytra or Headlines?
Headlines is rated higher. Elytra averages 3.7 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while Headlines averages 4.5 from 53 ratings.
Do Elytra or Headlines have ads?
Headlines shows ads; Elytra does not.
Which is updated more often, Elytra or Headlines?
Elytra ships an update fortnightly, and Headlines every 2 weeks. Most recently, Elytra was updated on October 24, 2026 and Headlines on October 25, 2026.

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