# Newston vs SmartRSS

The clearest difference is ads: SmartRSS at none against Newston's shown. SmartRSS also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (17 vs 1). Newston's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.6). On price, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Newston sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month and SmartRSS sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.29 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Newston holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SmartRSS has 17 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Newston ships an update every 2 months, SmartRSS every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Newston | SmartRSS |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/newston/id6455303961/reviews)** | [4.6 (17 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartrss-rss-reader-and-podcast/id6749771900/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | **17** |
| Positive reviews | — | 90.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 5 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 14 MB | 83 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [West East Labs LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1699931923) | [铫 刘](https://appshunter.io/developer/1807203451) |

## What reviewers say

### Newston

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/newston/id6455303961)

This app consolidates all your favorite newsletters into a single, organized feed. It provides a custom email address for subscriptions, enhancing privacy and reducing inbox clutter for a streamlined reading experience.

**Highlights:** Centralized newsletter reading, Custom @newston.email subscription address, In-app newsletter discovery, Seamless and intuitive interface, Privacy and security focused

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Newston Premium - Monthly | $1.99 | per month |


### SmartRSS

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartrss-rss-reader-and-podcast/id6749771900)

This app offers an intelligent RSS reading experience with AI-powered article summaries and text-to-speech functionality. It synchronizes across multiple platforms and services, providing a clean, customizable interface for modern content consumption.

**Highlights:** AI-powered article summaries, Natural text-to-speech audio, Cross-platform synchronization, Adaptive Material You Design, Intelligent feed organization, Offline reading support, OPML import/export

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Monthly | $1.29 | per month |
| Premium Yearly | $11.99 | per year |
| Premium Lifetime | $19.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Newston free?

Newston is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is SmartRSS free?

SmartRSS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Newston or SmartRSS?

Newston is rated higher. Newston averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while SmartRSS averages 4.6 from 17 ratings.

### Do Newston or SmartRSS have ads?

Newston shows ads; SmartRSS does not.

### Which is updated more often, Newston or SmartRSS?

Newston ships an update every 2 months, and SmartRSS every 5 days. Most recently, Newston was updated on October 12, 2026 and SmartRSS on October 19, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*