Comparison

MSN vs Harbor

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

Head to head
About

MSN

Stay informed, productive, and entertained with personalized news, real-time weather forecasts, and financial market updates. Enjoy a curated feed of short videos and content from trusted publishers.

Highlights
  • Personalized news feed
  • Real-time weather forecasts
  • Financial news and stock tracking
  • Short video feed
  • Content from trusted publishers
Currently charting
Read full description

The MSN app keeps you informed, productive, and entertained with tailored content, real-time weather, stock tracking, short videos and more.​ ​Key features​ Your tailored feed, with you on the go. Quality content from thousands of trusted publishers.​ Weather report​ Get hourly and 10-day forecasts, air quality, UV index and more.​ ​Financial news​ hub​ See the latest on the market, trends and your favorite stocks. ​ Your personalized video feed​​ Scroll short clips of the latest news, trending stories and viral moments. ​

About

Harbor

This app aggregates content from various sources into a unified timeline. It allows users to customize their reading experience with a unique feed rating system and discover new content through a curated directory. An optional subscription unlocks advanced features for power users.

Highlights
  • Unified timeline aggregation
  • Customizable feed rating system
  • Curated feed directory
  • Add feeds by URL
  • Ad-free and algorithm-free experience
  • Optional premium subscription
Features
Read full description

Harbor is the modern feed reader you didn’t know you needed. Follow the people, blogs, and feeds you care about, with no ads and no algorithms. It’s a feed reader you can browse casually, with the ability to aggregate from hundreds of sources without feeling too overwhelming. Harbor keeps its unified timeline manageable with a unique feed rating system. When you subscribe to a feed, you can tell Harbor you’re a “casual reader” or a “completionist” for that feed. Harbor then tries to ensure that you won’t miss a post from that blog you love that only posts once a month, while still allowing you to subscribe to feeds that post dozens of times per day. New to RSS, or newly returning to RSS? Harbor’s built-in and finely curated feed directory is the best way to find new blogs, newsletters, and websites to follow. Of course, you can always add new websites and blogs by their URL. Harbor Premium is an optional paid subscription for power users who subscribe to more than five feeds. Terms of Use: https://harbor.page/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://harbor.page/privacy-policy/

Screenshots

MSN4 screens
Harbor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: MSN at 4.6 against Harbor's 4.1. MSN also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (125K vs 9). Harbor's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (daily vs every 2 weeks). On price 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

Both are free to download. Harbor sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. MSN asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

MSN holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MSN has 125K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 38% of MSN's written reviews are positive against 60% of Harbor's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MSN ships an update every 2 weeks, Harbor daily. The most recent releases landed on November 14, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard10 real differences · 1 level
MSN versus Harbor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMSNHarbor
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (125K ratings) — better4.1 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews38.1% of reviews60.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings125K — better9
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksDaily — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFreemium
Best chart rank#70 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size263 MB10 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperMicrosoft CorporationPixel Foundry, LLC

Customer experience

MSN

All ratings124,386 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral4.0%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews735 reviews
Positive38.1%
Neutral6.5%
Negative55.4%

Harbor

All ratings9 ratings
Positive77.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative22.2%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%

Bugs and requests

MSN

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Inability to comment on articles
  • Inconsistent behavior when clicking back button
  • News articles not loading properly
  • Personalization settings not saving
  • Compatibility issues on older devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Customizable news feed and interests
  • Offline reading mode
  • Dark mode option
  • Improved article sharing capabilities
  • Better integration with other Microsoft services

Harbor

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

MSN

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Harbor

Subscriptions2
  • Harbor Premium Monthly7 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • Harbor Premium Yearly7 Days trial$9.991 Year

Questions

Is MSN free?
MSN is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Harbor free?
Harbor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, MSN or Harbor?
MSN is rated higher. MSN averages 4.6 out of 5 from 125K ratings, while Harbor averages 4.1 from 9 ratings.
Do MSN or Harbor have ads?
MSN shows ads; Harbor does not.
Which is updated more often, MSN or Harbor?
MSN ships an update every 2 weeks, and Harbor daily. Most recently, MSN was updated on November 14, 2026 and Harbor on November 3, 2026.

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