# Byline 5 vs RSS Wear

The clearest difference is rating: Byline 5 at 4.3 against RSS Wear's 2.8. Byline 5 also leads on ratings volume (73 vs 5) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 26.0). RSS Wear's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Byline 5 sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and RSS Wear sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Byline 5 holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 2.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Byline 5 has 73 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 41% of Byline 5's written reviews are positive against 46% of RSS Wear's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Byline 5 ships an update every 5 months, RSS Wear every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Byline 5 | RSS Wear |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.3 (73 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/byline-5/id946110496/reviews)** | [2.8 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rss-wear/id961571378/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **73** | 5 |
| Positive reviews | 40.9% of reviews | **46.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 8 MB | 2 MB |
| Requires iOS | **9.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Phantom Fish](https://appshunter.io/developer/284946776) | [Espressoft Technologies](https://appshunter.io/developer/383881804) |

## What reviewers say

### Byline 5

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/byline-5/id946110496)

Access your favorite news sources and blogs, even without an internet connection. Subscribe to thousands of RSS feeds and stay updated with automatic syncing across all your devices. Enjoy a streamlined reading experience with offline access and quick navigation.

**Highlights:** Offline reading with cached content, Syncs across devices and web, Quick article navigation, Background app refresh for syncing, Discover new feeds and search articles

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Byline Premium | $2.99 | one-time |
| Byline Premium | $5.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great offline reader
- ✨ Sleek new design
- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Good for subway/plane reading

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Freezes frequently
- 🐛 Ads in paid version
- 🐛 Unable to sign in via Google
- 🐛 Swipe sensitivity issues
- 🐛 Offline caching broken

**Reported bugs**

- App freezes after opening articles
- App attempts to paste from clipboard on opening
- Paid version still shows ads
- Unable to sign in via Google account
- Google login error: 'This browser or app may not be secure'

**Requested features**

- Add progress indicator for downloads
- Add dark mode
- Add widgets
- Improve swipe sensitivity
- Allow reordering of feeds


### RSS Wear

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rss-wear/id961571378)

Stay updated with your favorite news sources directly on your iPhone and Apple Watch. Easily search for topics, subscribe to feeds, and enjoy a clean reading experience with sharing options.

**Highlights:** Apple Watch support, Clean reading experience, Over 100 top RSS feeds, User-friendly search, Add new feeds, Sharing options, Drag to reorder feeds

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlimited RSS Feed | $0.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Byline 5 free?

Byline 5 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is RSS Wear free?

RSS Wear is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Byline 5 or RSS Wear?

Byline 5 is rated higher. Byline 5 averages 4.3 out of 5 from 73 ratings, while RSS Wear averages 2.8 from 5 ratings.

### Do Byline 5 or RSS Wear have ads?

Neither Byline 5 nor RSS Wear shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Byline 5 or RSS Wear?

Byline 5 ships an update every 5 months, and RSS Wear every 2 months. Most recently, Byline 5 was updated on November 6, 2026 and RSS Wear on November 1, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*