# Beacon vs Riff

The clearest difference is update cadence: Riff at daily against Beacon's every 4 days. Beacon's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Beacon sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month and Riff sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Beacon ships an update every 4 days, Riff daily. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Beacon | Riff |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/riff-rss-reader/id6819285875/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **2** |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | **Daily** |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 56 MB | 16 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 26.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Wells Code Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1886478343) | [Arnaud Lewis](https://appshunter.io/developer/6819286057) |

## What reviewers say

### Beacon

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/beacon-calm-rss-reader/id6804769501)

**Features:** Family Sharing, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Beacon — Monthly | $1.49 | per month |
| Beacon — Annual | $11.99 | per year |
| Beacon — Pay Once | $29.99 | one-time |


### Riff

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/riff-rss-reader/id6819285875)

This news reader presents articles one by one, allowing you to quickly read or skip them. It offers AI-powered summaries on demand and an optional listening feature. Your reading experience is private, with no account, ads, or tracking.

**Highlights:** Card-based article browsing, AI-powered article summaries, Offline article access, Customizable source playlists, Article listening feature, Home and lock screen widgets

**Features:** iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Riff, monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Riff, yearly | $17.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Beacon free?

Beacon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Riff free?

Riff is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Beacon or Riff have ads?

Neither Beacon nor Riff shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Beacon or Riff?

Beacon ships an update every 4 days, and Riff daily. Most recently, Beacon was updated on November 1, 2026 and Riff on October 31, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*