Comparison

Newsbite vs Simple RSS Reader

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

Head to head
About

Newsbite

A modern RSS newsreader for iPhone and iPad that aggregates feeds from various sources, including the Fediverse. It offers customizable reading experiences, smart filtering, and background updates without intrusive tracking or ads.

Highlights
  • Home Screen widgets
  • Built-in browser for feed discovery
  • Customizable article filtering
  • Reading list integration (Pocket, Instapaper)
  • Automatic topic discovery
  • Mastodon integration
  • iCloud sync
Features
Read full description

A modern RSS and social feed reader for iPhone and iPad, with features to help you find the news you are interested in, and no creepy tracking or advertising: - Add Home Screen widgets showing articles from your feeds or collections. - Discover feeds published by your favourite news website or blog. - Setup notifications to alert you when new articles appear in your feeds. - Create rules to automatically like, read, tag, or hide certain articles. - Filter articles by unread, today only, tag, or media type. - Add articles to the reading list for later, supports Raindrop, Instapaper, and Safari Reading List. - Automatically find the most written about topics from your feeds during the last day, week or month. - Load the full article content for feeds that don't include the full text in the feed. - Multiple image, audio, and video attachment playback. - Sync your feeds and topics, plus article reads and likes using iCloud, no additional account or login needed. - Keep articles indefinitely, even when removed from the feed. - Choose custom font, size, spacing, alignment, and theme for reading articles. - Supports RSS, Atom, and JSON feed formats. - Integrates directly with Mastodon, Bluesky, Reddit, Tumblr and YouTube to show you your feeds and posts in one place. Newsbite is free to use for up to 5 feeds, and has a premium subscription of £1.29 GBP per month to enable unlimited feeds. Prices may vary from country to country. If you choose to subscribe, payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at the confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions by going to your account settings on the App Store after purchase. Terms of Use: https://newsbite.app/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://newsbite.app/privacyPolicy.html

About

Simple RSS Reader

Manage your news feeds with an intuitive interface. Organize articles into categories, customize your views, and access over 100 suggested feeds. Enjoy a clean reading experience with an optional ad-free subscription.

Highlights
  • Create, edit, and delete RSS categories
  • Add, edit, and delete RSS feeds
  • Intuitive user interface
  • Refreshable RSS categories
  • Card and tile view options
  • Over 100 suggested RSS feeds
Features
Read full description

Simple RSS Reader has the following features: 1) Create, Edit and Delete RSS Categories. 2) Add, Edit and Delete RSS Feeds. 3) Intuitive UI. 4) Refreshable RSS Categories. 5) Re-order RSS Categories. 6) Expand & Collapse RSS Categories. 7) Card and Tile Views. 8) Over 100 Suggested RSS Feeds. 9) Best of all it's ALL FREE!! 10) Comes with a yearly subscription to remove all ads! We hope you enjoy it! Privacy Policy: https://www.privacypolicies.com/privacy/view/f305e8c16cd604145072daa15c9b408f Terms of Use: https://www.privacypolicies.com/terms/view/73ecc2b1aba4752a1caee940de0f2977

Screenshots

Newsbite4 screens
Simple RSS Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Newsbite at 4.5 against Simple RSS Reader's 2.0. Newsbite also leads on ratings volume (4 vs 1). Simple RSS Reader's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, ads 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. Newsbite sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Simple RSS Reader sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Newsbite holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Newsbite ships an update monthly, Simple RSS Reader every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 16, 2026 and September 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Newsbite versus Simple RSS Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNewsbiteSimple RSS Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (4 ratings) — better2.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews57.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better1
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size132 MB164 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperChris Jenkinssachin kanadia

Customer experience

Newsbite

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive57.1%
Neutral28.6%
Negative14.3%

Simple RSS Reader

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Newsbite

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium1 Month trial$0.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium1 Month trial$12.991 Year
1 purchases

Simple RSS Reader

Subscriptions1
  • Go Ad Free!$4.991 Year

Questions

Is Newsbite free?
Newsbite is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Simple RSS Reader free?
Simple RSS Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Newsbite or Simple RSS Reader?
Newsbite is rated higher. Newsbite averages 4.5 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Simple RSS Reader averages 2.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Newsbite or Simple RSS Reader have ads?
Neither Newsbite nor Simple RSS Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Newsbite or Simple RSS Reader?
Newsbite ships an update monthly, and Simple RSS Reader every 2 weeks. Most recently, Newsbite was updated on September 16, 2026 and Simple RSS Reader on September 12, 2026.

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