Comparison

Pulse RSS vs STAR RSS Reader

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

Head to head
About

Pulse RSS

Features
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Stay informed without the noise. PulseRSS is a fast, beautiful, and privacy-first RSS reader built for iOS. Subscribe to any blog, news site, or publication, and enjoy all your content in one place โ€” no algorithm, no ads, no clutter. FOLLOW WHAT MATTERS Subscribe to any RSS or Atom feed in seconds. Add your favorite blogs, newspapers, independent publications, and niche sites. PulseRSS fetches the latest articles automatically so you never miss an update. ORGANIZE YOUR FEEDS YOUR WAY Create custom groups to organize your subscriptions by topic, project, or mood. Collapse or expand groups to focus on what's relevant. Move feeds between groups with a single tap. READ LATER, ANYTIME Bookmark articles with a swipe and find them in your Read Later collection whenever you're ready. PulseRSS also prefetches and caches articles so you can keep reading even when you're offline. AI-POWERED SUMMARIES (Apple Intelligence) Short on time? Use Apple Intelligence to generate instant article summaries. Choose from predefined styles โ€” Default, Detailed, or Bullet Points โ€” or write your own custom prompt. Get the gist of any article in seconds. SEAMLESS ICLOUD SYNC Your feeds, groups, bookmarks, and reading preferences sync automatically across all your devices via iCloud. Private by design โ€” your data is never shared with third parties. HOME SCREEN WIDGETS Keep your favorite feeds at a glance with beautiful home screen widgets. Tap any article to jump straight into reading. Supports Large and Extra Large sizes. A READING EXPERIENCE DESIGNED FOR YOU โ€ข Adjustable font size and line height for comfortable reading โ€ข Clean article view with content extraction for a distraction-free experience โ€ข Filter unread articles or browse your full history โ€ข Full-text search across all your articles โ€ข Share any article with a single tap IMPORT & EXPORT Already using another RSS reader? Import your subscriptions in seconds via OPML. Export your feeds at any time to switch apps freely โ€” your subscriptions always belong to you. SMART ARTICLE MANAGEMENT Set a retention policy to automatically clean up old articles and free up storage. Or manage your library manually with bulk actions and per-feed controls. PULSE PRO Unlock the full PulseRSS experience: โ€ข Unlimited feeds and groups โ€ข Advanced search filters (by date, scope, and read state) โ€ข Unlimited AI summaries โ€ข Priority features and future updates PulseRSS is for people who love reading. Whether you follow 5 feeds or 500, it's the RSS reader that fits how you think. Download PulseRSS and take back control of your news. Terms of Use: https://pulserss.com/terms-conditions.html Privacy Policy: https://pulserss.com/privacy-policy.html

About

STAR RSS Reader

Features
Read full description

STAR RSS Reader is an iOS RSS reader for news, blogs, and tech updates. AI summaries, unread tracking, and favorites keep daily information intake simple and fast. [AI article summaries (paid plan)] - When article text is available, AI summarizes it when you open the article - Catch up on key points in seconds - Read the full text only for articles that matter - Some articles cannot be summarized when their content cannot be retrieved [Designed for daily reading] - Switch between Unread / Favorites / All quickly - Read in chronological order and find what matters fast - Toggle read/unread status with simple gestures - Mark all below as read to clean up quickly - Open and share articles from the detail view [Easy feed subscription] - Add any RSS URL to start - Duplicate feed detection - Unread count by feed - Sort options for your workflow - Site icons for easier scanning [Smooth migration and extension] - OPML import to migrate from other readers - Supports many genres: news, blogs, tech, comics, and more - Sync across iPhone / iPad / Web (web app for paid users) [More with the paid plan] - AI summaries for automatic catch-up - Full-text search across titles, article text, and AI summaries - Ad-free reading - Higher feed limit (10 free -> 300 paid) - Higher favorite limit (10 free -> 100 paid) - Hybrid server fetch to reduce misses - Server-only mode to save data usage [Recommended for] - People who want one place for news and blogs - People who want AI to shorten daily reading time - People who want to keep up daily without backlog - People migrating from other feed readers - People looking for a simple RSS app on iPhone - People who also want a web app for information tracking STAR RSS Reader keeps improving for a fast, simple, and sustainable RSS experience. Terms of Use: https://rssreader-star.web.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://rssreader-star.web.app/privacy

Screenshots

Pulse RSS4 screens
STAR RSS Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Pulse RSS at none against STAR RSS Reader's shown. STAR RSS Reader's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs monthly). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Pulse RSS sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and STAR RSS Reader sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pulse RSS ships an update monthly, STAR RSS Reader weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Pulse RSS versus STAR RSS Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPulse RSSSTAR RSS Reader
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly โ€” better
AdsNo โ€” betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad โ€” better
Requires iOS26.026.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size28 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFrancisco de la Rosa AguilarKensuke Hoshikawa

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Pulse RSS

Subscriptions2
  • 1 Month$0.991 Month
  • 1 Year Pro$8.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$9.99
2 purchases

STAR RSS Reader

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly paid plan7 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • Yearly paid plan7 Days trial$59.991 Year

Questions

Is Pulse RSS free?
Pulse RSS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is STAR RSS Reader free?
STAR RSS Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Pulse RSS or STAR RSS Reader have ads?
STAR RSS Reader shows ads; Pulse RSS does not.
Which is updated more often, Pulse RSS or STAR RSS Reader?
Pulse RSS ships an update monthly, and STAR RSS Reader weekly. Most recently, Pulse RSS was updated on October 28, 2026 and STAR RSS Reader on October 31, 2026.

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