Beacon vs Lede
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Beacon
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Beacon brings the sites and people you follow into one reader for iPhone, iPad and Mac. Paste a site address and Beacon finds its RSS, Atom or JSON feed. Follow Mastodon and Bluesky accounts as feeds of their own. Bring your subscriptions from another reader with OPML, and take them with you whenever you like. Looking for more? Follow suggests sites that what you read already links to, and the websites of people you follow. YOUR OWN NEWSPAPER Open the Newspaper and the last day's articles are set as a front page, with a lead story, sections and In Brief, in a morning, afternoon or evening edition. With Apple Intelligence, stories covered by several of your sources appear once, with every source beside them. MADE FOR READING Articles open in a clean reading view, in the font, size and spacing you like, with a choice of line width on iPad and Mac. Timeline keeps everything in order and holds your place. Prefer an inbox? Classic shows only what you haven't read. Listen to any article read aloud. ORGANISED YOUR WAY • Folders, pinned sources and icons in the sidebar • Smart Folders from any saved search • Mute keywords you'd rather not see • Notifications for the feeds you choose • Feed health flags feeds that have stopped working ASK ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE READING Ask Siri to summarise an article or answer a question about it. Beacon answers from that article, on your device, with Apple Intelligence on supported devices. WHEREVER YOU READ • Siri and Shortcuts actions: refresh before you sit down, or save an article in one step • A Front Page widget for the Home Screen, the Lock Screen and the Mac desktop • A proper Mac app, with keyboard shortcuts on Mac and on iPad with a keyboard • Your library in sync through your private iCloud No Wells Code account, and no algorithmic feed in your Timeline. Just the sources you chose. One plan unlocks Beacon on iPhone, iPad and Mac, with Family Sharing: Annual or Monthly, each with a two-week free trial, or Pay Once. Terms of Use: https://wellscode.com/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://wellscode.com/privacy/
Lede
A fast and clean RSS reader that allows you to follow your favorite websites and read articles in a distraction-free native interface. It offers control over your reading experience with features like daily limits and customizable article retention.
- Clean native reader interface
- Automatic full text fetching
- Swipe navigation for articles
- Starred, Unread, and All filters
- Daily article limits per feed
- OPML import/export
- Private by design, no tracking
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Lede is a fast, calm RSS reader for iPhone. Follow the sites you choose, read them in a clean native reader, and leave when you're done. READ, DON'T WADE • Articles open in a clean reader with your choice of text size and typeface. • Teaser feeds get their full text fetched automatically. • Swipe up or down for the next article, right to go back, left for the original web page. STAY IN CONTROL • Starred, Unread and All on every list, plus a recency filter: Today, the past few hours, or the past week. • A limit per feed: show only a busy feed's latest articles, so it can't take over your lists. • Keep Articles cleans up after a day, a week or a month. Starred articles are always kept. BRING YOUR FEEDS • Add any feed, or just a website's address and Lede finds its feed. • Import and export OPML to move from any other reader. • Start with a pack of well-known feeds (news and tech, sports, food and crafts, and more), or with none. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No account, no ads, no analytics, no tracking. • Everything stays on your iPhone. There are no servers of ours: Lede fetches only what your feeds point to.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Lede at none against Beacon's 3. Beacon's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. Beacon sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Lede asks for nothing beyond the download.
Beacon ships an update every 3 days, Lede every 2 days. Both last shipped on November 8, 2026.
| Parameter | Beacon | Lede |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 57 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Wells Code Ltd | Steve Shreeve |
In-app purchases
Beacon
- Beacon — Monthly14 Days trial$1.491 Month
- Beacon — Annual14 Days trial$11.991 Year
- Beacon — Pay Once$29.99
Lede
No in-app purchases








