Comparison

Kanso RSS vs Stacks

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

Head to head
About

Kanso RSS

Features
Read full description

WHY "KANSO" Kanso (簡素) is a Japanese idea of simplicity fewer ornaments, more breathing room. This app applies that to news: not a noisy timeline, but a calm shelf where typography, paper-like surfaces, and gentle spacing keep the focus on what you choose to read. WHAT YOU GET • Add RSS and Atom feeds, organised on shelves you name. • Today: what’s new across everything—filter by unread, all, or saved. • Saved articles with optional folders so “read later” stays tidy. • A reader built for long-form reading, with thumbnails you can tune. • Sign in to sync feeds, saved items, and settings across your devices (when enabled). KANSO PLUS (OPTIONAL) • Unlimited feeds (free tier includes up to 12 feeds). • Handwriting / ink on more articles (free tier includes up to 5 ink articles). • Quiet Focus: a calmer reader chrome when you want fewer distractions. • Page watch: when a site has no RSS, follow it as a lightweight link feed from the page (background refresh about weekly; timing isn’t guaranteed). If you want RSS without the rush, Kanso is the quiet corner for your reading list. Privacy Policy: https://tompaape.nl/kanso-rss-privacy Terms of Use (Apple Standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

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

Kanso RSS3 screens
Stacks4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Stacks at none against Kanso RSS's 3. Stacks also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 8 days) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.2). On price, ads 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. Kanso RSS sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Stacks asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Kanso RSS ships an update every 8 days, Stacks daily. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and July 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Kanso RSS versus Stacks: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKanso RSSStacks
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 purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.217.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB7 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperTom PaapeRichard Russell

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Kanso RSS

Subscriptions2
  • Kanso Plus (Monthly)$2.991 Month
  • anso Plus (Yearly)$17.991 Year
One-time1
  • Kanso Plus Lifetime$49.99
None

Stacks

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Kanso RSS free?
Kanso RSS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Stacks free?
Stacks is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Kanso RSS or Stacks have ads?
Neither Kanso RSS nor Stacks shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Kanso RSS or Stacks?
Kanso RSS ships an update every 8 days, and Stacks daily. Most recently, Kanso RSS was updated on September 22, 2026 and Stacks on July 18, 2026.

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