# NetNewsWire vs Matter

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: NetNewsWire at none against Matter's 21. NetNewsWire also leads on review sentiment (85% vs 54%) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). Matter's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs monthly). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Matter sells 20 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. NetNewsWire asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for NetNewsWire against 4.6 for Matter. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 882 and 1.2K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of NetNewsWire's written reviews are positive against 54% of Matter's.

NetNewsWire ships an update monthly, Matter weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | NetNewsWire | Matter |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (882 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/netnewswire-rss-reader/id1480640210/reviews)** | [4.6 (1.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/matter-reading-app/id1501592184/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 882 | **1.2K** |
| Positive reviews | **84.7% of reviews** | 53.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | #143 | **#96** |
| Size | 27 MB | 113 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Brent Simmons](https://appshunter.io/developer/1480640209) | [Dig Wells, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1498971378) |

## What reviewers say

### NetNewsWire

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/netnewswire-rss-reader/id1480640210)

**Currently charting:** #143 Top Free · News (US App Store)

This app aggregates articles from your favorite blogs and news sites, offering a faster and more organized way to consume content. It provides control over your news feed, eliminating the need to visit multiple websites or rely on social media algorithms. Enjoy a streamlined reading experience with customizable features and syncing capabilities.

**Highlights:** Direct feed downloading, iCloud and third-party syncing, Customizable article themes, Reader view, Starred articles, Smart feeds, Home screen widgets

**In-app purchases:** none


### Matter

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

**Currently charting:** #96 Top Grossing · News, #196 Top Free · 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 NetNewsWire free?

NetNewsWire is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Matter free?

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

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

NetNewsWire is rated higher. NetNewsWire averages 4.7 out of 5 from 882 ratings, while Matter averages 4.6 from 1.2K ratings.

### Do NetNewsWire or Matter have ads?

Neither NetNewsWire nor Matter shows ads.

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

NetNewsWire ships an update monthly, and Matter weekly. Most recently, NetNewsWire was updated on September 26, 2026 and Matter on September 25, 2026.

### Which is more popular, NetNewsWire or Matter?

NetNewsWire currently peaks at #143 in the App Store charts, and Matter at #96. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

---

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