Comparison

TidBITS News vs Reeder.

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

Head to head
About

TidBITS News

Access the latest news and product updates for Mac and iOS devices from a long-standing internet publication. Read full articles with graphics and embedded videos, and follow links to external resources. Content is downloaded for offline reading.

Highlights
  • Headline and summary display
  • Pull-to-refresh functionality
  • Full article reading with graphics and video
  • Adjustable font sizes
  • In-app web browsing
  • Offline content access
Read full description

Stay up to date with the latest news and products in the Mac and iOS worlds with TidBITS (tidbits.com), the oldest Internet-only publication on the planet! The award-winning publication was founded in 1990 by Adam Engst, regularly voted one of the most influential figures in the Macintosh industry. Displays headlines and summaries for the most recent TidBITS stories. At the top of the headline screen, pull to refresh the list. Tap to read the full text of any recent TidBITS article, complete with graphics and embedded movies. Choose among font sizes for reading articles. Follow links to referenced Web sites and other Internet resources in Safari. All headlines and articles are downloaded to your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch so you can catch up on TidBITS while on the subway or on an iPad/iPod touch that's out of range of a Wi-Fi network.

About

Reeder.

Consolidate your reading, watching, and listening into a single, unified timeline. Sync your progress across devices and share curated content with others. Organize saved links and create custom views with powerful filters.

Highlights
  • Unified timeline for all content
  • Cross-device syncing via iCloud
  • Shareable feeds from tags
  • Customizable filters for timelines
  • Save and organize links
  • Integrates videos, podcasts, and social media
Features
Read full description

Reeder is your all-in-one inbox for reading, watching and listening to content from various sources. From Unread Counts to Timeline Syncing Say goodbye to unread counts! With Reeder, your timeline position is synced across all your devices, letting you pick up right where you left off. Shared Feeds Turn any tag into a public, auto-updating feed that can be viewed in any browser or added to any RSS reader that supports JSON feeds, making it simple to share your curated content. Unified Timeline Reeder supports more than just RSS feeds. It integrates videos, podcasts and social media posts into a single, streamlined view. While it’s not meant to replace full-featured clients, Reeder offers a centralized way to keep track of everything you follow, with the option to open content in other apps (if supported) when you want to dive deeper. Filters Create custom timelines with filters based on keywords, media types or feed types. Save and Organize Links Easily save links from Safari or any other app to Reeder using its share extension, keeping everything organized and easy to find. iCloud Sync Reeder only syncs what’s important — your subscriptions, timeline position and tagged items (including Links, Favorites, Bookmarks and Later) — across all your devices using iCloud, making syncing faster and more efficient, with changes pushed to your other devices within seconds. Content is fetched directly from the sources, ensuring you always have the latest updates. Terms of Use: https://reeder.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://reeder.app/privacy

Screenshots

TidBITS News2 screens
Reeder.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: TidBITS News at none against Reeder.'s 2. TidBITS News also leads on review sentiment (64% vs 53%). Reeder.'s advantage is rating (4.3 vs 3.8) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). 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. Reeder. sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.00 per month. TidBITS News asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Reeder. holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Reeder. has 863 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 64% of TidBITS News's written reviews are positive against 53% of Reeder.'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TidBITS News ships an update every 4 months, Reeder. every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
TidBITS News versus Reeder.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTidBITS NewsReeder.
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (6 ratings)4.3 (863 ratings) — better
Positive reviews64.3% of reviews — better53.3% of reviews
Number of ratings6863 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB29 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperMatt NeuburgSilvio Rizzi

Customer experience

TidBITS News

All ratings6 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews42 reviews
Positive64.3%
Neutral2.4%
Negative33.3%

Reeder.

All ratings863 ratings
Positive80.1%
Neutral5.1%
Negative14.8%
Written reviews705 reviews
Positive53.3%
Neutral15.6%
Negative31.1%

Bugs and requests

TidBITS News

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Reeder.

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Feeds failing to import or sync correctly
  • Inconsistent timeline ordering and display
  • Podcast and video playback issues
  • Crashes and stability problems

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add read/unread status indicators
  • Improve feed organization with folders
  • Provide more customization options for layout and typography
  • Integrate with third-party RSS services
  • Introduce keyboard shortcuts for common actions
Show 1 more
  • Add option to hide read/viewed content

In-app purchases

None

TidBITS News

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Reeder.

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$1.001 Month
  • Yearly$10.001 Year

Questions

Is TidBITS News free?
TidBITS News is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Reeder. free?
Reeder. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, TidBITS News or Reeder.?
Reeder. is rated higher. TidBITS News averages 3.8 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Reeder. averages 4.3 from 863 ratings.
Do TidBITS News or Reeder. have ads?
Neither TidBITS News nor Reeder. shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TidBITS News or Reeder.?
TidBITS News ships an update every 4 months, and Reeder. every 3 weeks. Most recently, TidBITS News was updated on September 18, 2026 and Reeder. on September 24, 2026.

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