Comparison

RSS Widget vs RSS Reader

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Customizable Home Screen widgets
  • Today View widgets
  • RSS feed display
  • Configurable refresh frequency
  • Multiple content display options
  • Article filtering
  • Dark mode support
Features
Read full description

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).

About

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.

Highlights
  • Home screen RSS widgets
  • Add and manage RSS feeds
  • Link previews
  • OPML/CSV import/export
  • Archive favorite articles
  • Dark mode
Features
Read full description

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

RSS Widget4 screens
RSS Reader3 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
RSS Widget versus RSS Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRSS WidgetRSS Reader
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (7 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews87.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings7 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 34 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB2 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperFrancis Bonnin杏娣 吴

In-app purchases

None

RSS Widget

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

RSS Reader

Subscriptions2
  • RSS Reader Pro$1.491 Month
  • RSS Reader Pro3 Days trial$9.991 Year

Questions

Is RSS Widget free?
RSS Widget costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is RSS Reader free?
RSS Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do RSS Widget or RSS Reader have ads?
Neither RSS Widget nor RSS Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RSS Widget or RSS Reader?
RSS Widget ships an update every 3 months, and RSS Reader every 34 months. Most recently, RSS Widget was updated on October 3, 2026 and RSS Reader on October 4, 2026.

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