Comparison

Cosy Reader vs Stacks

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

Head to head
About

Cosy Reader

Features
Read full description

Cosy Reader is the calm home for everything you mean to read. Your RSS feeds, the articles you bookmark, and the newsletters you subscribe to — finally in one quiet place, in the order they were published. No algorithm. No "for you" tab. No infinite scroll nudging you to read more than you want. Just your reading, the way you chose it. THREE THINGS, ONE HOME • RSS feeds — Follow blogs, news sites, and podcasts. One chronological timeline, no algorithm deciding for you. Bring your existing subscriptions with a one-click OPML import. • Bookmarks — Save any article from the web in one click with the Chrome or Firefox extension. Your reading list is one tap away — come back when you actually have time to read. • Newsletters — Get a dedicated inbox address. Newsletters land in the app, not in your email. Read them when you sit down to read, not between meetings. CALM DOESN'T MEAN BARE-BONES • Search — Find anything by title, URL, or a line you remember reading. • Filters — Filter by tag, source, or reading status, and combine them to find exactly what you need. • Reading progress — A bar tracks where you are, so you pick up right where you left off. • Collections — Group your sources into topics. Read tech on Monday, cooking on Sunday. HOSTED IN EUROPE. YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS. EU-hosted servers. No trackers selling your data. No dark patterns. Delete your account and everything goes with it. COMING FROM ANOTHER APP? Import your subscriptions from any RSS reader via OPML, and your saved articles as a CSV file. Everything comes with you. SIMPLE PRICING Start free: 200 bookmarks, 20 RSS feeds, and import from your current tools — no credit card required. Upgrade to Pro for unlimited bookmarks, unlimited feeds, and the newsletter inbox. One calm place for everything you mean to read.

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

Cosy Reader4 screens
Stacks4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Stacks at daily against Cosy Reader's every 8 days. Cosy Reader's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cosy Reader ships an update every 8 days, Stacks daily. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Cosy Reader versus Stacks: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCosy ReaderStacks
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 daysDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size49 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAroniaina ANDRIAMARORichard Russell

In-app purchases

None

Cosy Reader

No in-app purchases

None

Stacks

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Cosy Reader free?
Cosy Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Stacks free?
Stacks is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Cosy Reader or Stacks have ads?
Neither Cosy Reader nor Stacks shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cosy Reader or Stacks?
Cosy Reader ships an update every 8 days, and Stacks daily. Most recently, Cosy Reader was updated on October 2, 2026 and Stacks on October 8, 2026.

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