Comparison

Tessera News vs Stacks

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

Head to head
About

Tessera News

Consolidate all your news, videos, and podcasts into a single, elegant feed. Extract full article text, set custom alerts, and enjoy offline reading. Follow any source, including blogs, YouTube, and Reddit.

Highlights
  • Full text article extraction
  • Home screen widgets
  • Customizable notifications
  • Offline reading mode
  • Support for any source (blogs, YouTube, Reddit, podcasts)
  • Integrated podcast player
  • OPML import and cross-device sync
Features
Read full description

Stop jumping between dozens of apps! Tessera is the all-in-one RSS feed reader that brings news, videos, and podcasts into one beautifully designed space. • READ FULL TEXT: Say goodbye to cut-off articles. Tessera extracts full text with images, videos, and Reddit/YouTube embeds. • WIDGETS (NEW): Bring your timeline to your home screen! Add beautiful widgets for headlines, weather, and sports. • NOTIFICATIONS (NEW): Never miss an update. Set custom alerts for your favorite feeds and breaking news. • OFFLINE MODE: Download articles with a tap and read anywhere without internet. • ADD ANY SOURCE: Follow news sites, blogs, YouTube, Reddit, and podcasts. • PODCAST PLAYER: Listen in the background while scrolling. • OPML & SYNC: Import feeds instantly. Sync progress across your iOS devices and the web. • SOCIAL: React, vote, and comment with the community. Take back control of your content. Download Tessera today!

About

Stacks

A distraction-free reader for newsletters, blogs, and podcasts that downloads content for offline access. Enjoy your favorite content anywhere, even without an internet connection, with smart automatic downloads and a clean interface.

Highlights
  • Fully offline content access
  • Smart automatic downloading
  • Distraction-free reading interface
  • Built-in podcast player
  • Fast full-text search
  • Private by design, no account needed
Features
Read full description

Stacks is a calm, fully offline reader for the newsletters, blogs, and podcasts you already follow. Add any Substack or RSS feed and Stacks downloads the full articles, images, and podcast episodes to your iPhone so you can read and listen anywhere, even with no signal. On a plane, on the subway, off the grid: nothing buffers, nothing reloads. WHY YOU'LL LIKE IT • Truly offline — full article text, images, and audio are stored on your device for reading and listening with no connection. • A clean, distraction-free reader with adjustable text size, light and dark themes, and a built-in podcast player. • Smart automatic downloading keeps your latest posts ready and manages storage for you. • Fast full-text search across everything you've saved. • Collapsible comment threads, when you want them. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Stacks has no servers of its own, no account, and no analytics. Everything it downloads stays on your device and goes nowhere else. No tracking, no ads. No account is required: just add a feed and pull to refresh. ——— Not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Substack Inc.

Screenshots

Tessera News4 screens
Stacks4 screens

Verdict

The call

Tessera News and Stacks both sit at 5.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Stacks's written reviews are positive against 0% of Tessera News's. Stacks also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and update cadence (daily vs every 5 days). Tessera News's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. Tessera News sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Stacks asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Tessera News against 5.0 for Stacks. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 0% of Tessera News's written reviews are positive against 100% of Stacks's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tessera News ships an update every 5 days, Stacks daily. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Tessera News versus Stacks: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTessera NewsStacks
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings12 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThe Moonshot LabRichard Russell

Customer experience

Tessera News

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Stacks

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Tessera News

One-time4
  • Tessera Silver$3.00
  • Tessera Gold$9.00
  • Tessera Black$17.00
Show 1 more
  • Tessera Black$24.90
None

Stacks

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Tessera News free?
Tessera News is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Stacks free?
Stacks is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Tessera News or Stacks?
Tessera News and Stacks are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do Tessera News or Stacks have ads?
Neither Tessera News nor Stacks shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tessera News or Stacks?
Tessera News ships an update every 5 days, and Stacks daily. Most recently, Tessera News was updated on October 23, 2026 and Stacks on October 8, 2026.

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