Comparison

ReadKit vs HeadlineDeck

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

Head to head
About

ReadKit

This app consolidates your news feeds and saved articles into a single, distraction-free reading experience. It offers robust organization, offline access, and advanced customization for a personalized way to consume content across devices.

Highlights
  • All-in-one reading hub
  • Cross-platform sync (iOS/macOS)
  • Offline article access
  • Advanced organization with smart folders
  • Enhanced reader mode
  • Customizable interface
  • Powerful search and filtering
Features
Read full description

Your All-in-One Reading Companion ReadKit is a powerful, all-in-one read-later and RSS client that brings together your favorite news, articles, and feeds. With major providers and built-in iCloud RSS and Read Later sync, ReadKit lets you save and read articles later, providing a distraction-free reading experience anytime and anywhere. KEY FEATURES • All-in-One Reading Hub: Access all your accounts in one place with multi-account support. • Cross-Platform: Universal app with full feature parity on iOS and macOS. • iCloud RSS and Read Later: Built-in services with iCloud sync. • Flexible Syncing: Sync with major RSS aggregators and read-later services. • Advanced Organization: Manage feeds, folders, tags and automatically updated smart folders. • Smart Folder Actions: Mark items read or starred and filter content. • Offline Access: Read articles offline with cached images. • Enhanced Reading Experience: Built-in reader mode extracts full article content, with options for automatic activation. • Wide Gesture Support: Navigate, mark articles read and perform quick actions. • In-App Browser: View links and references without leaving the app. • App Badge Preferences: Customize the badge to display the count of unread items. • Mark as Read Options: Mark articles read while scrolling, by pulling up, or in one tap. • Contextual Marking: Quickly mark articles as read above or below directly from the context menu. • Customizable Interface: Choose themes, light or dark mode, and app icons to suit your style. • Powerful Search: Search articles by content, title, or source. • Filter Articles: Easily filter articles by read or starred status. • Background Syncing: Always stay updated with background sync. • Content Sharing: Use the share extension to save articles from Safari and other apps for later reading. • Email Articles: Send articles directly via email to share with others. • Share via Apps and Services: Share articles through the share sheet. • YouTube Channel Support: Subscribe to YouTube channels and playlists through RSS feeds. • Full Keyboard Support: Optimized for hardware keyboards on macOS and iPad. • Feed Import/Export: Import or export subscriptions via OPML files. • Application Settings Export: Export and import appearance, reading, general behavior and gesture preferences. Enjoy ReadKit’s essential features completely free — no ads, no data mining. Unlock additional features with ReadKit Premium, available via a universal subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase for iOS, macOS, or both. A free trial is also available. PREMIUM FEATURES • Multi-Account Support: Manage multiple accounts simultaneously. • Unlimited Smart Folders: Create and customize more than one smart folder per account. • Enhanced Reader Mode: Extract full-text content from articles, even when missing from the feed source. • Article Summary: summarize articles using AI on supported devices (requires ReadKit Premium, Apple Intelligence and iOS 26). • Unlimited Feeds: Remove the 20-feed limit for the built-in RSS service. • Advanced Organization Tools: Organize feeds and articles into folders or tags. • Image Caching: Enjoy offline reading with cached images. • Themes & Custom Icons: Unlock exclusive themes and choose custom app icons. • Full OPML Support: Import and export feed subscriptions with ease. • Account and Smart Folder Export: Export account settings with smart folders and import them individually. • Early Access: Enjoy upcoming premium features as they're released. SUPPORTED SERVICES • Built-in RSS and Read Later services with iCloud sync. • News Reader Services: BazQux, Feedbin, Feedly, Fever, FreshRSS, Inoreader, Miniflux, NewsBlur, The Old Reader, Tiny Tiny RSS • Read Later & Bookmarking Services: Instapaper, Wallabag and Pinboard Privacy Policy: https://readkit.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://readkit.app/terms-of-use

About

HeadlineDeck

Swipe through news headlines presented as cards, offering a clutter-free reading experience. Customize your feed with trusted sources and enjoy features like AI summaries and audio playback. Designed for focus and respect for your time.

Highlights
  • Card-based headline swiping
  • Personalized news feed
  • AI-powered article summaries
  • Audio playback for articles
  • Home screen widgets
  • Cross-device sync
  • Dark mode and themes
Features
Read full description

Swipe the news instead of scrolling it. HeadlineDeck turns 48 topics and trusted publishers into a calm deck of headline cards — no ads, no clickbait, no rabbit holes. PERSONALISED NEWS FEED • Follow up to 5 topics and 5 publications free. Pro Lite unlocks unlimited follows. • Choose from trusted publications including BBC, Reuters, The Guardian, TechCrunch, The Verge and AP News. • Your deck updates automatically throughout the day with fresh breaking news and top stories. • Choose whether to include recommended stories from outside the sources you follow. CARD-BASED READING — BUILT FOR SPEED • Swipe through story cards in a clean, focused deck — headline, summary, and source at a glance. • Pro unlocks built-in Reader Mode for full articles, with clean typography and adjustable font sizes. • No clickbait. No promoted content. Real journalism, curated for you. HOME SCREEN WIDGETS (Pro Lite) • Catch breaking headlines on your Home Screen with four widget styles. AI-POWERED SUMMARIES (Pro) • Get concise 2–4 sentence AI summaries of full articles — understand the whole story in seconds. • Powered by Google Gemini for neutral, accurate, and context-aware summaries. • Available to HeadlineDeck Pro subscribers. SAVE, ORGANISE & REVISIT • Save up to 20 articles free; Pro Lite unlocks unlimited saves. • Organise saved articles into custom folders and add private notes with Pro Lite. • View your full reading history at a glance. AUDIO HEADLINES (Pro) • Listen to articles hands-free with built-in text-to-speech voice playback — great for commutes and multitasking. SYNC ACROSS DEVICES • Sign in with Apple, Google or Email to sync your followed topics, bookmarks, reading history, folders, and notes across all your devices. • Guest mode available — no account required to get started. TABLET & FOLDABLE OPTIMISED • Full dual-pane layout on iPad and foldable devices — browse your feed on the left, read articles on the right. • Adaptive layout adjusts beautifully for any screen size. DARK MODE & THEMES • System-automatic Dark Mode with full AMOLED-friendly dark theme. • Light, Dark, or System — choose what works for you. HEADLINEDECK PRO • Unlock the full HeadlineDeck experience: • AI-powered article summaries • Paywall article filter — automatically hide paywalled content • Audio headline playback with natural voice narration • Unlimited topic & publication follows • Available monthly or annually. Cancel any time. DESIGNED FOR FOCUS • Built to respect your time, not trap your attention. • Effortless gesture-based card navigation. • Concise AI summaries that get straight to the point. • Zero algorithmic rabbit holes and zero ads. Support: support@headlinedeck.app Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://headlinedeck.app/privacy.html

Screenshots

ReadKit4 screens
HeadlineDeck4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: HeadlineDeck at 100% against ReadKit's 56%. HeadlineDeck also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and update cadence (daily vs every 2 weeks). ReadKit's advantage is ratings volume (127 vs 2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. ReadKit sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and HeadlineDeck sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

HeadlineDeck holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ReadKit has 127 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of ReadKit's written reviews are positive against 100% of HeadlineDeck's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ReadKit ships an update every 2 weeks, HeadlineDeck daily. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
ReadKit versus HeadlineDeck: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReadKitHeadlineDeck
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (127 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews56.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings127 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB30 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperBalazs VarkonyiShai Vure

Customer experience

ReadKit

All ratings127 ratings
Positive84.3%
Neutral3.1%
Negative12.6%
Written reviews128 reviews
Positive56.3%
Neutral19.5%
Negative24.2%

HeadlineDeck

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

ReadKit

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • Persistent toolbars blocking distraction-free reading
  • Background refresh not working reliably
  • Wallabag sync errors and failures
  • App crashes when integrating multiple services
  • Reading articles not marking as read automatically
Show 7 more
  • Embedded tweets not displaying in web view
  • Favicon and headline display issues in article list
  • Thumbnail images not showing in article list
  • Text overlap with underline formatting
  • Inconsistent behavior between iOS and iPadOS versions
  • Sync errors preventing account setup
  • Partial feature support without clear disclosure

Requested features

19 requests
  • iCloud sync support for feeds and data
  • Raindrop read-later service integration
  • Sepia background option for light mode
  • Widgets support
  • Automatic reader view option
Show 14 more
  • Push notifications for new articles
  • Import Smart Folders from previous versions
  • Sync Smart Folders across all devices
  • Additional read-later service integrations (GoodLinks, etc.)
  • Mark all as read button
  • Pinboard API key login support
  • Article position sync for read-later services
  • More article list view customization options
  • Highlight and annotate text functionality
  • Built-in annotation and newsletter management
  • Podcast playing capability
  • Automatic full article text loading
  • Quick article opening in Safari
  • Image zoom and preview functionality

HeadlineDeck

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

ReadKit

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Premium Annual7 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time3
  • Premium Lifetime macOS$19.99
  • Premium Lifetime iOS$19.99
  • Premium Lifetime Universal$29.99
3 purchases

HeadlineDeck

Subscriptions2
  • HeadlineDeck Pro Monthly$1.991 Month
  • HeadlineDeck Pro Annual$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • HeadlineDeck Pro Lite$4.99

Questions

Is ReadKit free?
ReadKit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is HeadlineDeck free?
HeadlineDeck is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ReadKit or HeadlineDeck?
HeadlineDeck is rated higher. ReadKit averages 4.3 out of 5 from 127 ratings, while HeadlineDeck averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do ReadKit or HeadlineDeck have ads?
Neither ReadKit nor HeadlineDeck shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ReadKit or HeadlineDeck?
ReadKit ships an update every 2 weeks, and HeadlineDeck daily. Most recently, ReadKit was updated on November 3, 2026 and HeadlineDeck on November 6, 2026.

Other comparisons