R2SReader vs Stacks
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
R2SReader
Build a personalized news stream from your trusted sources with this lightweight RSS feed reader. It prioritizes your privacy by not requiring sign-up or unnecessary permissions, offering a simple and secure way to stay informed.
- Personalized news stream
- Trusted source aggregation
- No sign-up required
- Privacy-focused design
- Lightweight performance
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PERSONALIZED STREAM R2SReader is a lightweight RSS feed reader that helps you to build a personalized news stream from your trusted sources. SIMPLICITY No sign-up needed, you can start using it right after install. PRIVACY Privacy is our top priority. Never ask unnecessary permission and never access your information without your permission.
Stacks
A distraction-free reader for newsletters, blogs, and podcasts that downloads content for offline access. Enjoy your favorite content anywhere, even without an internet connection, with smart automatic downloads and a clean interface.
- Fully offline content access
- Smart automatic downloading
- Distraction-free reading interface
- Built-in podcast player
- Fast full-text search
- Private by design, no account needed
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Stacks is a calm, fully offline reader for the newsletters, blogs, and podcasts you already follow. Add any Substack or RSS feed and Stacks downloads the full articles, images, and podcast episodes to your iPhone so you can read and listen anywhere, even with no signal. On a plane, on the subway, off the grid: nothing buffers, nothing reloads. WHY YOU'LL LIKE IT • Truly offline — full article text, images, and audio are stored on your device for reading and listening with no connection. • A clean, distraction-free reader with adjustable text size, light and dark themes, and a built-in podcast player. • Smart automatic downloading keeps your latest posts ready and manages storage for you. • Fast full-text search across everything you've saved. • Collapsible comment threads, when you want them. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Stacks has no servers of its own, no account, and no analytics. Everything it downloads stays on your device and goes nowhere else. No tracking, no ads. No account is required: just add a feed and pull to refresh. ——— Not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Substack Inc.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Stacks at daily against R2SReader's weekly. R2SReader's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and ratings volume (6 vs 2). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for R2SReader against 5.0 for Stacks. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 2 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
R2SReader ships an update weekly, Stacks daily. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | R2SReader | Stacks |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (6 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 6 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Howard Su | Richard Russell |
Customer experience
R2SReader
Stacks
In-app purchases
R2SReader
No in-app purchases
Stacks
No in-app purchases
