Comparison

Beacon vs Quoin Reader

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

Head to head
About

Beacon

Features
Read full description

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/

About

Quoin Reader

Organize and read your favorite news feeds in a beautiful newspaper-style layout. Get curated daily editions with article summaries and weather updates. Sync your reading progress across devices.

Highlights
  • Newspaper-style layout
  • Organize feeds by topic
  • Daily news editions
  • Article summaries with Apple Intelligence
  • Hourly weather forecasts
  • iCloud sync across devices
Features
Read full description

Introducing Quoin Reader. A newspaper-style RSS app that lets you organize feeds by topic and displays them on a beautiful layout on iPad and iPhone Duo. - Your news is delivered in Morning, Afternoon, and Evening editions with the three top articles summarized by Apple Intelligence (requires Quoin Pro) - Get a quick look at the daily weather including hourly conditions (requires Quoin Pro) - On iPhone, view a chronological list of articles or sort by RSS feed - On iPad and unfolded iPhone Duo, view a large newspaper style list with multiple columns and favorite feeds at the top - Sync feeds, categories, saved articles, and read status across devices with iCloud - Filter spam and sponsored articles with Apple Intelligence (requires Quoin Pro) Quoin Pro is an optional auto-renewable subscription, available monthly or annually. It unlocks The Briefing, smart filters, weather, and unlimited feeds. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase (after a trial period if available). The subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://amick.me/quoin/

Screenshots

Beacon4 screens
Quoin Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

Beacon and Quoin Reader are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Beacon sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month and Quoin Reader sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Beacon ships an update every 3 days, Quoin Reader every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Beacon versus Quoin Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBeaconQuoin Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.0 — better27.0
Further details — not scored
Size57 MB10 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperWells Code LtdJack Amick

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Beacon

Subscriptions2
  • Beacon — Monthly14 Days trial$1.491 Month
  • Beacon — Annual14 Days trial$11.991 Year
One-time1
  • Beacon — Pay Once$29.99
4 purchases

Quoin Reader

Subscriptions2
  • Quoin Pro (Monthly)$1.991 Month
  • Quoin Pro (Annual)$12.991 Year
One-time2
  • Quoin Pro Lifetime Upgrade$19.99
  • Quoin Pro Lifetime$29.99

Questions

Is Beacon free?
Beacon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Quoin Reader free?
Quoin Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Beacon or Quoin Reader have ads?
Neither Beacon nor Quoin Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Beacon or Quoin Reader?
Beacon ships an update every 3 days, and Quoin Reader every 5 days. Most recently, Beacon was updated on November 10, 2026 and Quoin Reader on November 11, 2026.

Other comparisons