Comparison

Particle vs ReadsFreely RSS Reader

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

Head to head
About

Particle

This app delivers personalized news summaries from multiple sources, offering different perspectives on stories. It includes AI-powered features like "Explain Like I'm 5" summaries and podcast clips integrated into articles. Users can follow topics, people, and publishers for tailored content and listen to their news feed.

Highlights
  • Personalized news feed
  • Multi-perspective story analysis
  • AI-powered summaries
  • Podcast clips integration
  • Follow topics, people, and publishers
  • Interactive Q&A on stories
  • Listen to news feed
Features
Read full description

PERSONALIZED NEWS Keep up with the topics that matter most to you. NOT JUST ARTICLES... MULTI-PERSPECTIVE STORIES Particle brings you news from many sources and shows multiple perspectives in one place. See the different sides of a story with "Opposite Sides", and understand how a story is being covered with Particle's political spectrum chart. SUMMARIZED, YOUR WAY Read the news in summarized bullet points that tell you what you need to know. Choose from different summary styles, like "Explain Like I'm 5", "The 5Ws", or even a different language to help you understand the story in the best way for you. DISCOVER RELEVANT PODCASTS Particle listens to podcasts to identify key moments, clip them, and place them right inside the stories you're already reading. LISTEN TO THE NEWS Hit "Play" to listen to your personalized feed of news—perfect for your commute or being hands-free! FOLLOW ANYTHING Follow people, places, and things to always get news about them right in your feed. Follow journalists and publishers to always see content from them, too. Want it even faster? When something you follow is making news, you can choose to get notified right away. INTERACTIVE Need to learn more? Ask a question about any story, and Particle will answer it for you. Browse questions to learn from what others have asked. DAILY DIGESTS Get push notifications for your top news every day. UPGRADE YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH PARTICLE+ Become a premium subscriber for access to even more customization. Premium subscribers get: Custom Summaries, Voice Choice, Private Questions, access to the entire crossword archive, and a variety of App Icons. Terms of use: https://particle.news/terms

About

ReadsFreely RSS Reader

Features
Read full description

It scrolls the news for you. ReadsFreely is a hands-free RSS reader. Headlines auto-scroll at the speed you set. Stand the phone on a desk or in the kitchen. Touch to pause. Tap Open to read the story. No ads. No algorithmic feed. No account. WHAT IT IS A self-playing headline stream from the RSS feeds you choose. Defaults: ST World, BBC News, CNBC World. Add any RSS URL. Filter by source. That’s the product. WHAT IT IS NOT Not a power-user client. No unread counts, no folders, no sync, no OPML (yet), no AI ranking. If you want NetNewsWire or Reeder, use those. If you want the phone to keep walking the headlines while your hands are busy, use this. HANDS-FREE AUTO-SCROLL You set the pace — slow browse or fast scan. The feed itself moves. This is not mark-as-read-on-scroll, and it is not a teleprompter for long articles. CLEAN No ads. No “For You.” No newsletter. Age 4+. PLANS • Free — up to 4 RSS sources • Standard — up to 20 sources — HK$8/month • Pro — up to 50 sources — HK$32/month Standard and Pro are monthly subscriptions, billed through Apple. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://tkosgary.github.io/readsfreely-privacy/

Screenshots

Particle4 screens
ReadsFreely RSS Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is chart position: Particle at #71 against ReadsFreely RSS Reader's unranked. ReadsFreely RSS Reader's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Particle sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and ReadsFreely RSS Reader sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Particle ships an update every 9 days, ReadsFreely RSS Reader every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Particle versus ReadsFreely RSS Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterParticleReadsFreely RSS Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.3K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews79.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.3K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
Best chart rank#71 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size395 MB47 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperMina Labs, Inc.Chi Him Tsang

Bugs and requests

Particle

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App crashes when updating story mix
  • Outdated articles appearing at the top of feeds

Requested features

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

ReadsFreely RSS Reader

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Particle

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Yearly$29.991 Year
2 purchases

ReadsFreely RSS Reader

Subscriptions2
  • Standard - Up to 20 rss sources$0.991 Month
  • Pro - Up to 50 rss sources$3.991 Month

Questions

Is Particle free?
Particle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ReadsFreely RSS Reader free?
ReadsFreely RSS Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Particle or ReadsFreely RSS Reader have ads?
Neither Particle nor ReadsFreely RSS Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Particle or ReadsFreely RSS Reader?
Particle ships an update every 9 days, and ReadsFreely RSS Reader every 5 days. Most recently, Particle was updated on November 12, 2026 and ReadsFreely RSS Reader on November 5, 2026.

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