# Simple News Reader vs Heartfeed RSS Reader

The clearest difference is rating: Heartfeed RSS Reader at 4.8 against Simple News Reader's 3.3. Heartfeed RSS Reader also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 9 months) and ratings volume (90 vs 3). Simple News Reader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Heartfeed RSS Reader sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Simple News Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

Heartfeed RSS Reader holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Heartfeed RSS Reader has 90 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Simple News Reader ships an update every 9 months, Heartfeed RSS Reader every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Simple News Reader | Heartfeed RSS Reader |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.3 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simple-news-reader/id952367972/reviews) | **[4.8 (90 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/heartfeed-rss-reader/id1078754321/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 3 | **90** |
| Positive reviews | — | 89.2% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 1 MB | 14 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Ferdinand Hof](https://appshunter.io/developer/592572981) | [Ozymandias](https://appshunter.io/developer/286776954) |

## What reviewers say

### Simple News Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simple-news-reader/id952367972)

This app offers a clean and intuitive interface for managing RSS feeds. Easily add, refresh, and browse articles, with options to save for later and a convenient night mode.

**Highlights:** Clean and intuitive interface, Easy feed management, Save articles for later, Night mode, Search functionality, Share articles

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Heartfeed RSS Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/heartfeed-rss-reader/id1078754321)

This app offers an efficient, no-nonsense way to read news from RSS, Atom, and JSON feeds without requiring account setup or server reliance. It features a compact grid view, background feed refreshing, and seamless syncing across iOS devices via iCloud.

**Highlights:** Compact grid view for feeds, Internal browser with content blocker support, Automatic iCloud sync for feeds and read status, Quick pick list for selecting news items, Background feed refresh and caching, Bookmark management with iCloud sync, Night mode theme

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

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tipping the developer | $0.99 | one-time |
| Unlimited feeds | $2.99 | one-time |
| Tipping the developer | $2.99 | one-time |
| Even more tip to the developer | $9.99 | one-time |
| Maximum tip to the developer | $24.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎯 Perfect Pulse replacement with grid/tile layout
- 👍 Simple, intuitive, and streamlined interface
- ⚡ Fast and efficient news consumption
- 🔄 Reliable syncing across devices
- 📱 Clean, uncluttered design without bloat

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes on opening and usage
- 💰 Paywall for unlimited feeds ($2.99)
- 🔍 No search functionality across feeds
- 📸 Limited thumbnail/image display options
- 🌍 No multi-language or RTL script support

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on launch
- Crashes after adding feeds
- Multiple crashes during normal usage
- App fails to start after recent updates
- iCloud syncing issues (requires troubleshooting)

**Requested features**

- Search functionality with highlighting across feeds
- Individual mark-as-read buttons per feed
- Thumbnail images in grid view
- Apple Watch app support
- Offline reading capability


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Simple News Reader free?

Simple News Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Heartfeed RSS Reader free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Simple News Reader or Heartfeed RSS Reader?

Heartfeed RSS Reader is rated higher. Simple News Reader averages 3.3 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Heartfeed RSS Reader averages 4.8 from 90 ratings.

### Do Simple News Reader or Heartfeed RSS Reader have ads?

Neither Simple News Reader nor Heartfeed RSS Reader shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Simple News Reader or Heartfeed RSS Reader?

Simple News Reader ships an update every 9 months, and Heartfeed RSS Reader every 2 months. Most recently, Simple News Reader was updated on October 3, 2026 and Heartfeed RSS Reader on October 17, 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.*