Comparison

NetNewsWire vs CMRSS

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

Head to head
About

NetNewsWire

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
Currently charting
Read full description

It’s like podcasts, but for reading. NetNewsWire is a free and open source RSS reader. It shows you articles from your favorite blogs and news sites and keeps track of what you’ve read. It’s fast, stable, and accessible. If you’ve been going from site to site in your browser looking for new articles to read — or counting on the unreliable algorithms of corporate social media — let NetNewsWire bring you the news you want. It’s easy and fun. And it puts you, not billionaires, in control of your news. Features: * Direct feed downloading * Syncing via iCloud, Feedbin, Feedly, BazQux, Inoreader, NewsBlur, The Old Reader, and FreshRSS * Multiple accounts * Custom article themes * Reader view * Share sheet * Starred articles * All Unread and Today smart feeds * Folders * Importing and exporting OPML feed lists * Background refreshing * Searching * Hiding read articles * Timeline customization * Keyboard shortcuts * Context menus * Home screen widgets for today, unread, and starred articles * Share extension

About

CMRSS

This news reader offers a streamlined way to consume content across all Apple devices. It features on-device AI for article summarization and robust organization tools, ensuring a private and efficient reading experience.

Highlights
  • iCloud sync across Apple devices
  • On-device AI article summarization
  • Tabbed reading with built-in browser
  • Organize feeds into folders
  • Follow YouTube, Reddit, X, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook
  • Smart Folders with custom rules
  • Widgets for desktop and Home Screen
Features
Read full description

CMRSS — A native RSS reader for Mac, iPhone, and iPad CMRSS is a fast, beautifully native RSS reader that keeps up with everything you follow — and helps you read it in less time. One app, every Apple device, perfectly in sync. Everything, everywhere — automatically Your feeds, folders, and read/unread state sync seamlessly through iCloud. Set things up once and pick up exactly where you left off, whether you're on your Mac, iPhone, or iPad. Read smarter with on-device AI Get a clear one- or two-sentence summary of any article, generated privately on your device with Apple Intelligence. Skim your feeds, catch what matters, and dive in only when you want to. Nothing is sent to a server. Built for focused reading • Tabbed reading with a built-in browser — open full articles without leaving the app, and your open tabs follow you to your other devices • Unread-first workflow — jump straight to what's new, or browse everything • Organize feeds into folders that stay in sync everywhere • Tune your layout: title line count, summaries on or off Follow more than blogs • Paste a YouTube channel or a subreddit — CMRSS finds the feed for you • Follow X, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook pages, and entire websites through the optional RSS.app integration (RSS.app account required) • Import and export OPML to bring your subscriptions with you — or take them anywhere Smart Folders • Folders that fill themselves — collect articles by title, content, feed, age, or read state • Combine rules into nested any/all groups for precise filters • Unread counts and iCloud sync, just like regular folders Widgets for your desktop and Home Screen • An unread ring for a glanceable count, or latest-articles widgets in two sizes • Show everything or pick a single feed; tap to jump straight to the article Never miss what you care about • Smart background refresh on your schedule (every 5, 15, 30, or 60 minutes) • Flexible notifications: a single sync summary, one per feed, or one per article • Mark important feeds for per-article alerts • An app-icon badge that always shows your unread count Power features • Dispatch Actions — send any article to your other apps through Shortcuts, with keyboard slots ⌘1–⌘5 • Spotlight search — find your articles right from the desktop or Home Screen • Curated suggestions to get you started fast • Automatic cleanup — choose how long to keep articles to control storage Private by design Sync runs through your own iCloud account, and AI summaries are generated entirely on-device. No third-party servers. No tracking. Your reading is yours. Free to try, one purchase to own Every feature is free with up to 5 feeds. A single one-time purchase unlocks unlimited feeds — no subscription, yours forever. Download CMRSS and make your feeds feel effortless again. Note: AI article summaries require a device that supports Apple Intelligence.

Screenshots

NetNewsWire4 screens
CMRSS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: NetNewsWire at none against CMRSS's 1. NetNewsWire also leads on ratings volume (890 vs 1) and chart position (#104 vs unranked). CMRSS's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs monthly) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, ads 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. CMRSS sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. NetNewsWire asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

CMRSS holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NetNewsWire has 890 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of NetNewsWire's written reviews are positive against 100% of CMRSS's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NetNewsWire ships an update monthly, CMRSS every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
NetNewsWire versus CMRSS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNetNewsWireCMRSS
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (890 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews83.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings890 — better1
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#104 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB20 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperBrent SimmonsCharlie Monroe Software, s.r.o.

Customer experience

NetNewsWire

All ratings887 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral2.4%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews330 reviews
Positive83.9%
Neutral7.9%
Negative8.2%

CMRSS

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

In-app purchases

None

NetNewsWire

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

CMRSS

One-time1
  • CMRSS Pro$9.99

Questions

Is NetNewsWire free?
NetNewsWire is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CMRSS free?
CMRSS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, NetNewsWire or CMRSS?
CMRSS is rated higher. NetNewsWire averages 4.7 out of 5 from 890 ratings, while CMRSS averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do NetNewsWire or CMRSS have ads?
Neither NetNewsWire nor CMRSS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NetNewsWire or CMRSS?
NetNewsWire ships an update monthly, and CMRSS every 6 days. Most recently, NetNewsWire was updated on November 7, 2026 and CMRSS on November 5, 2026.

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