Comparison

Elytra vs Stratum Full Text RSS Reader

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

Stratum Full Text RSS Reader

This app aggregates news from your favorite sources, offering offline reading and cloud synchronization across devices. It provides customizable viewing modes, story snoozing, and an archive feature to manage information overload. Enjoy text-to-speech functionality for an enhanced listening experience.

Highlights
  • News aggregation from favorite sources
  • Offline reading capabilities
  • Cloud synchronization across devices
  • Customizable viewing modes
  • Story snoozing and archiving
  • Built-in web view or external browser option
  • Text-to-speech with adjustable voices and speeds
Features
Read full description

Stratum is the ultimate tool for staying informed on all the news that matters to you. With just one app, you can access real-time updates from all your favourite sources, without the need to manually visit each site. But Stratum is more than just an RSS and Atom reader app - it's a powerful news aggregator with cloud integration that takes your news reading experience to the next level. With a variety of viewing modes, Stratum makes it effortless to sort your news feeds by relevance and structure them to suit your preferences. Thanks to cloud fetch, your news is perpetually up to date and harmonized across all your devices, guaranteeing you're always in the know. Additionally, you're in control when it comes to opening links: you can choose between the app's built-in web view or an external browser, tailoring your browsing experience to your liking. Stratum tackles the issue of information overload head-on, offering practical solutions to help you manage your news consumption seamlessly. With Stratum, you can now effortlessly snooze stories that you want to revisit later, ensuring that your feed remains focused on the most relevant and timely content. Additionally, the archive feature empowers you to store articles for future reference, keeping your main feed clutter-free. And on top of that Stratum's offline reading capabilities allows you to access and read cached articles even when you're offline, allowing seamless and uninterrupted access to your news even through temporary or extended internet outages. Stratum offers a seamless reading experience for feeds with brief page previews. No longer will you be left wanting more; with this feature, you can dive into the content you care about most without any hassle. What's more, Stratum now introduces an advanced text-to-speech system with a wealth of options to cater to your preferences. With multiple voices and adjustable speeds, you can truly personalize your listening experience. And this system is integrated with the reader view, allowing you to listen to the content in your chosen voice and speed, ensuring accessibility and convenience like never before. Don't settle for outdated RSS feed reader apps with limited functionality. Upgrade to Stratum and experience a user-friendly interface that is as intuitive as it is powerful. Whether you're catching up on the news during your morning commute or staying informed throughout the day, Stratum is the perfect tool to help you stay connected to the stories that matter most. EULA: https://impure.github.io/Litany-Privacy-Policy/EULA.html Privacy Policy: https://impure.github.io/privacy_policy.html

Screenshots

Elytra4 screens
Stratum Full Text RSS Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Stratum Full Text RSS Reader at 100% against Elytra's 44%. Stratum Full Text RSS Reader also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.7) and monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription). Elytra's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (9 vs 1). On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Elytra sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Stratum Full Text RSS Reader sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Stratum Full Text RSS Reader holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Elytra has 9 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 44% of Elytra's written reviews are positive against 100% of Stratum Full Text RSS Reader's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Elytra ships an update fortnightly, Stratum Full Text RSS Reader every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and June 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Elytra versus Stratum Full Text RSS Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterElytraStratum Full Text RSS Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (9 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews44.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings9 — better1
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS26.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB66 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperNikhil NigadeAndrew Zuo

Customer experience

Elytra

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

Stratum Full Text RSS Reader

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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
9 purchases

Stratum Full Text RSS Reader

Subscriptions9
  • Full News Stories, Folders,$1.997 Days
  • Full Text News, Speak Aloud,$3.997 Days
  • Full News Stories, Folders,$4.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • AI News Summaries, YouTube$5.997 Days
  • Full Text News, Speak Aloud...$9.991 Month
  • AI News Summaries, YouTube$19.991 Month
  • Full News Stories, Folders,1 Month trial$47.991 Year
  • Full Text News, Speak Aloud...1 Month trial$95.991 Year
  • AI News Summaries, YouTube1 Month trial$191.991 Year

Questions

Is Elytra free?
Elytra is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Stratum Full Text RSS Reader free?
Stratum Full Text RSS Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Elytra or Stratum Full Text RSS Reader?
Stratum Full Text RSS Reader is rated higher. Elytra averages 3.7 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while Stratum Full Text RSS Reader averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Elytra or Stratum Full Text RSS Reader have ads?
Stratum Full Text RSS Reader shows ads; Elytra does not.
Which is updated more often, Elytra or Stratum Full Text RSS Reader?
Elytra ships an update fortnightly, and Stratum Full Text RSS Reader every 3 weeks. Most recently, Elytra was updated on September 23, 2026 and Stratum Full Text RSS Reader on June 21, 2026.

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