# Particle vs SmartRSS

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Particle at 1.2K against SmartRSS's 17. Particle also leads on chart position (#69 vs unranked). SmartRSS's advantage is review sentiment (91% vs 80%) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Particle sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 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.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Particle against 4.6 for SmartRSS. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Particle has 1.2K ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of Particle's written reviews are positive against 91% of SmartRSS's.

Particle ships an update every 9 days, SmartRSS every 6 days. Both last shipped on October 30, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Particle | SmartRSS |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (1.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/particle-personalized-news/id6683283775/reviews)** | [4.6 (17 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartrss-rss-reader-and-podcast/id6749771900/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **1.2K** | 17 |
| Positive reviews | 80.3% of reviews | **90.9% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | **Every 6 days** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | **#69** | — |
| Size | 395 MB | 83 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Mina Labs, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1676703908) | [铫 刘](https://appshunter.io/developer/1807203451) |

## What reviewers say

### Particle

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/particle-personalized-news/id6683283775)

**Currently charting:** #69 Top Free · Magazines & Newspapers (US App Store)

Stay informed with news tailored to your interests, presented from multiple viewpoints. Get concise summaries, discover related podcasts, and listen to your personalized news feed. Follow specific topics, people, or publishers for instant updates.

**Highlights:** Multi-perspective news stories, Customizable summaries, Podcast clips integrated into articles, Listen to news feed, Follow topics, people, and publishers, Interactive Q&A for stories, Daily news digests

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Yearly | $29.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly
- 🚀 Efficient news summarization
- 🔍 Transparent source and bias information
- 💡 Customizable news feed
- 🎨 Beautiful and modern UI

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🤖 Excessive political content despite user preferences
- 🌍 Lack of diverse global news coverage
- 🔀 Disorganized layout and navigation

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes when updating story mix
- Outdated articles appearing at the top of feeds

**Requested features**

- Improved categorization and organization of news
- Expanded international news coverage
- Option to completely filter out unwanted political content


### 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 Particle free?

Particle 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, Particle or SmartRSS?

Particle is rated higher. Particle averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.2K ratings, while SmartRSS averages 4.6 from 17 ratings.

### Do Particle or SmartRSS have ads?

Neither Particle nor SmartRSS shows ads.

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

Particle ships an update every 9 days, and SmartRSS every 6 days. Most recently, Particle was updated on October 30, 2026 and SmartRSS on October 30, 2026.

---

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