Flipster vs NetNewsWire
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Flipster
Access a wide selection of digital magazines for free through your local library. Explore, download, and read titles offline on your Apple device, with features like offline reading and article navigation.
- Locate participating libraries
- Browse and download magazines
- Read magazines offline
- Digital table of contents
- Article text view
- Jump to articles and websites
- Track reading progress
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Flipster is a free digital magazine service provided courtesy of your library. Find libraries near you that offer Flipster, then explore, download, and read magazines any time on your Apple devices. If you find that your library does not offer Flipster, encourage them to sign up today. Features: - Locate participating libraries - Browse, search, and download popular magazines to read offline - Access digital table of contents for each magazine - Read articles in text view - Tap highlighted areas to jump to articles and related websites - Track percentage of magazine read Now it’s time to relax, put your feet up and read your favorite magazines with Flipster!
NetNewsWire
This app aggregates articles from your favorite blogs and news sites, offering a faster and more organized way to consume content. It provides control over your news feed, eliminating the need to visit multiple websites or rely on social media algorithms. Enjoy a streamlined reading experience with customizable features and syncing capabilities.
- Direct feed downloading
- iCloud and third-party syncing
- Customizable article themes
- Reader view
- Starred articles
- Smart feeds
- Home screen widgets
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It’s like podcasts, but for reading. NetNewsWire is a free and open source RSS reader. It shows you articles from your favorite blogs and news sites and keeps track of what you’ve read. It’s fast, stable, and accessible. If you’ve been going from site to site in your browser looking for new articles to read — or counting on the unreliable algorithms of corporate social media — let NetNewsWire bring you the news you want. It’s easy and fun. And it puts you, not billionaires, in control of your news. Features: * Direct feed downloading * Syncing via iCloud, Feedbin, Feedly, BazQux, Inoreader, NewsBlur, The Old Reader, and FreshRSS * Multiple accounts * Custom article themes * Reader view * Share sheet * Starred articles * All Unread and Today smart feeds * Folders * Importing and exporting OPML feed lists * Background refreshing * Searching * Hiding read articles * Timeline customization * Keyboard shortcuts * Context menus * Home screen widgets for today, unread, and starred articles * Share extension
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: NetNewsWire at 85% against Flipster's 16%. NetNewsWire also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.2) and update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). Flipster's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
NetNewsWire holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 211 and 882 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 16% of Flipster's written reviews are positive against 85% of NetNewsWire's.
Flipster ships an update every 3 months, NetNewsWire monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Flipster | NetNewsWire |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.2 (211 ratings) | 4.7 (882 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 15.9% of reviews | 84.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 211 | 882 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #200 | #144 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 27 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | EBSCO Publishing | Brent Simmons |
Customer experience
Flipster
NetNewsWire
Bugs and requests
Flipster
Reported bugs
5 issues- Login issues and credential errors
- Frequent crashes and service unavailability
- Incompatibility with newer OS versions
- Inability to exit full-screen mode
- Outdated magazine content
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to bookmark specific publishers or categories
- Adjustable font sizes and text view options
- Notifications for expiring magazines
- Dark mode support
- Improved navigation and magazine management
NetNewsWire
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Flipster
No in-app purchases
NetNewsWire
No in-app purchases
