Mlem for Lemmy vs rdx for Reddit
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mlem for Lemmy
Experience the Fediverse through a native iOS app designed for seamless interaction with all major Lemmy instances. Enjoy powerful features like swipe actions, quick account switching, and extensive customization for an optimized mobile experience.
- Native iOS Swift development
- Lemmy instance compatibility
- Swipe actions
- Account quick-switching
- Customization options
- Optimized backend
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Mlem for Lemmy is beautiful, smooth, and compatible with all major Lemmy instances. Written fully in iOS' native Swift, Mlem lets you experience Lemmy while taking advantage of the best your device has to offer. With powerful, easy-to-use features such as swipe actions and account quick-switching, a robust set of customizations, and a highly optimized backend, Mlem offers the mobile Lemmy experience you deserve!
rdx for Reddit
Browse Reddit content with a fast, ad-free, and customizable unofficial client. Enjoy native video and GIF support, various themes, and the ability to save posts. It offers a clutter-free experience for viewing your favorite subreddits without logging in.
- Compact and full post preview modes
- Native video, GIF, and gallery support
- Customizable themes and fonts
- Open-source development
- Ad-free browsing experience
- Save Reddit posts for later
- Subscribe to subreddits without logging in
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rdx for Reddit is an unofficial client for Reddit that provides free, fast and ad-free Reddit browsing. Here are some of the key features of the rdx for Reddit app. 1. Compact and Full post preview mode: You can view full size posts or a laid-back compact mode. 2. Native Video, GIF and Gallery support: Supports Reddit, Imgur, Giphy etc GIFs natively. Download Reddit Videos and GIFs easily and save to your phone. 3. Themes, fonts & more: You can customise almost everything in the app. Multiple dark and light themes are available. 4. Open-source: The original rdx for Reddit website has always been open-source and available on Github. 5. Ad-free: There are no distractions between you and your favourite Reddit content. 6. Save Reddit posts: You can save Reddit posts to view them later. 7. Subscribe: You can subscribe to subreddits to get your favourite content on the home page without logging in,
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Mlem for Lemmy at none against rdx for Reddit's 6. Mlem for Lemmy also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 49%). rdx for Reddit's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. rdx for Reddit sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Mlem for Lemmy asks for nothing beyond the download.
Mlem for Lemmy holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 84 and 162 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of Mlem for Lemmy's written reviews are positive against 49% of rdx for Reddit's.
Mlem for Lemmy ships an update every 3 weeks, rdx for Reddit fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mlem for Lemmy | rdx for Reddit |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (84 ratings) — better | 4.4 (162 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 80.4% of reviews — better | 48.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 84 | 162 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 71 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Eric Andrews | Avadhesh Bhunwaliya |
Customer experience
Mlem for Lemmy
rdx for Reddit
User reviews
Mlem for Lemmy
From 84 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ✨ High quality and thoughtfully made app
- 👍 Joy to use
- 🌟 On par with Apollo for Reddit
- 🚀 Seamless Lemmy experience
- ✅ Mostly stable now
Room to improve
- 🐛 Cannot sign up/validate username
- 🐛 Annoying bug: loses progress when switching apps
- 🐛 Bouncing back to feeds list is irritating
- 🐛 Minor bugs introduced with updates
- 🐛 Embedded content shows as links, not playable
rdx for Reddit
From 162 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ✨ Minimal and clutter-free interface
- 👍 Efficient and elegant design
- 🚀 Smooth UI and performance
- 👍 Great for anonymous browsing
- 👍 Allows reading Reddit without logging in
Room to improve
- 🐛 Content not loading
- 🐛 Search for subreddits not working
- 🐛 No way to save subreddits (outside import)
- 🐛 Videos without sound
- 🐛 Cannot view subreddit sidebar
Bugs and requests
Mlem for Lemmy
Reported bugs
19 issues- Cannot validate username for account creation
- Loses progress when switching to another app while composing a post/reply
- App bounces back to the subscribed feeds list in various situations
- New bugs introduced with each update
- Embedded content (videos) only show as links
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- Changing font size via iOS Accessibility settings breaks drag and drop functionality
- Media type label in the lower left corner covers parts of the image
- App crashes frequently
- Jittery scrolling on ProMotion enabled iPhones
- Cannot log out of an account without deleting it
- Requires signing back into the instance every time an external link is followed
- No way to change font size
- Timeline is a mess
- Unable to save images
- Unable to zoom in on images
- Unable to load images on their own without comments
- Bad app icon (furry)
- No full screen for pictures, always goes to post
- Login required from the start for some users
Requested features
19 requests- Customizability for each feed type (e.g., bold headlines)
- Larger card view option
- Compact view option
- Option to customize gestures
- Fix embedded content to be playable
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- Fix font size breaking drag and drop
- Option to not display media type label or hide it
- Mark inbox as read automatically
- Hide post option
- Customizable swipe options on posts
- Cross-post functionality
- Set Reader mode as default for links
- Ability to zoom out on pictures
- Ability to save images
- Search for posts within a community
- Block communities from post options menu
- Filter instances option
- Collapse all comments by default
- Up/Down votes on the right side
rdx for Reddit
Reported bugs
17 issues- Content not loading (claims impossible reasons)
- Search for subreddits not working
- Unable to look up other subreddits
- Cannot access r/all
- No way to save subreddits
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- Videos without sound
- Cannot load content after 20 topics (stuck loading)
- Repeatedly loading the same 20 topics
- Does not open links in default browser
- No in-app photo download button
- Video with no sound
- Cannot sign in or comment/create posts (free version)
- Doesn't work with VPN
- No way to get out of search
- Not able to follow any subreddits
- Missing back button
- No way to view subreddit sidebar
Requested features
9 requests- Profile-based feature for separating interests
- Option to see NSFW content
- Ability to set a default page when opening the app (e.g., popular)
- Hiding scrolled posts
- Single tap to collapse comments
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- Full screen mode
- Ability to import subscriptions easily (with guide/video)
- Image download option
- In-app photo download button
In-app purchases
Mlem for Lemmy
No in-app purchases
rdx for Reddit
- Coffee Tip$4.99
- Cupcake Tip$4.99
- Burger Tip$9.99
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- Donut Tip$9.99
- Pizza Tip$14.99
- Cake Tip$19.99
Questions
Is Mlem for Lemmy free?
Is rdx for Reddit free?
Which has better reviews, Mlem for Lemmy or rdx for Reddit?
Do Mlem for Lemmy or rdx for Reddit have ads?
Which is updated more often, Mlem for Lemmy or rdx for Reddit?
Other comparisons
