RSS Widget vs RSS Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
RSS Widget
Customize your device's Home screen and Today view with custom widgets. Display RSS feeds in a visually appealing and configurable manner, with options for refresh frequency, content layout, and article filtering. Easily access your information and actions from anywhere.
- Customizable Home Screen widgets
- Today View widgets
- RSS feed display
- Configurable refresh frequency
- Multiple content display options
- Article filtering
- Dark mode support
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Thanks to this application (and the other Widget apps from PacoLabs), you can now customize the Home screen and the Today view of your device, by adding custom widgets for some specific purposes. From anywhere in your device, you'll have access to your own information and actions. Each RSS widget allows you to view any RSS feed in a pleasant and highly customizable way. The refresh frequency can be chosen (from every 5 minutes to every day). You can choose to display the content as a beautiful image with an overlayed text, or as an article with an icon, and the associated text. Articles without an image can be filtered. You can define the number of articles to display in a single widget (from 1 to 6). If necessary, you can also choose the first article to be displayed. Decide to hide or show the image, title, abstract, content and author. Different visual parameters can be changed (such as font name, font size and the different colors). Those Widgets are compatible with the new iOS 14 Home Screen Widgets. The application is really easy to use and is adapted to the fresh look of your device. Dark mode of iOS13 is supported. In Today view: You can add as many widgets as you want and they will be displayed in up to 3 different lists. Those same lists will be available in the Today view and in the application (although it is possible, if you want, to hide some widgets in the Today view). To avoid overloading the Today view, when too many widgets are displayed, an intuitive control will allow you to navigate from one widget to another. Even if the main purpose of the app is to view the widgets in the Today view, it can also be very handy to view them directly in the application (a long press on a widget in the Today view will open it directly in the main application).
RSS Reader
Stay updated with your favorite news and blogs directly from your home screen. This app allows you to add RSS feeds and view them through customizable widgets, with options to archive articles and use a dark mode.
- Home screen RSS widgets
- Add and manage RSS feeds
- Link previews
- OPML/CSV import/export
- Archive favorite articles
- Dark mode
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Read your RSS feeds directly on your home screen with widgets Features: - Add RSS Feeds in APP - Displays RSS feeds on your home screen - Link Preview rss feeds - Data Import & Export with OPML/CSV format - Archive your favourite articles - Dark mode - Easy to use ----- RSS Reader Pro is available with a monthly or annual subscription. You can subscribe and pay through your Apple account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Auto-renew may be turned off after purchase. Terms of Use: https://www.zhihuke.com/rssreader/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://www.zhihuke.com/rssreader/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: RSS Reader at Free against RSS Widget's $0.99. RSS Widget's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 34 months). On 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
RSS Reader is free to download; RSS Widget costs $0.99 up front. RSS Reader sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. RSS Widget asks for nothing beyond the download.
RSS Widget ships an update every 3 months, RSS Reader every 34 months. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | RSS Widget | RSS Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.6 (7 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 87.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 7 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 34 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Francis Bonnin | 杏娣 吴 |
In-app purchases
RSS Widget
No in-app purchases
RSS Reader
- RSS Reader Pro$1.491 Month
- RSS Reader Pro3 Days trial$9.991 Year









