# Relative News vs SmartRSS

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Relative News at none against SmartRSS's 3. SmartRSS's advantage is review sentiment (91% vs 75%) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. SmartRSS sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.29 per month. Relative News asks for nothing beyond the download.

Relative News holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 31 and 17 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 75% of Relative News's written reviews are positive against 91% of SmartRSS's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Relative News ships an update weekly, SmartRSS every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Relative News | SmartRSS |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (31 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/relative-news/id6741184546/reviews)** | [4.6 (17 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartrss-rss-reader-and-podcast/id6749771900/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **31** | 17 |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews | **90.9% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Weekly | **Every 6 days** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Size | 21 MB | 85 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Relative LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1793476828) | [铫 刘](https://appshunter.io/developer/1807203451) |

## What reviewers say

### Relative News

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/relative-news/id6741184546)

Get a comprehensive view of news by comparing coverage from trusted sources. This app offers AI-powered search, instant alerts, and a distraction-free reader to help you understand complex stories with multiple perspectives.

**Highlights:** Daily news summaries, AI-powered news search, Compare coverage from different outlets, Real-time news alerts, Save and follow stories, Distraction-free reading mode

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### 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, iPhone Duo 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 Relative News free?

Relative News is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is SmartRSS free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Relative News or SmartRSS?

Relative News is rated higher. Relative News averages 4.8 out of 5 from 31 ratings, while SmartRSS averages 4.6 from 17 ratings.

### Do Relative News or SmartRSS have ads?

Neither Relative News nor SmartRSS shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Relative News or SmartRSS?

Relative News ships an update weekly, and SmartRSS every 6 days. Most recently, Relative News was updated on November 4, 2026 and SmartRSS on November 6, 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.*