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Newsbin vs NetNewsWire: which RSS reader is right for you?
If you’re picking a native RSS reader for your Apple devices, two names worth comparing are NetNewsWire and Newsbin. I make Newsbin, so I’m obviously biased — but NetNewsWire is genuinely excellent, and the honest answer is that the right choice depends on what you need. Here’s a fair breakdown.
The short version
- NetNewsWire is the better fit if you want a free, open-source reader and you sync through a third-party service like Feedbin or Feedly.
- Newsbin is the better fit if you want one app that’s native on every Apple device — including Apple Watch and Vision Pro — with zero tracking and no third-party account required.
Side by side
| NetNewsWire | Newsbin | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, no in-app purchases | Free to try, then $2.99/mo or $34.99 lifetime |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| iPhone / iPad / Mac | Yes | Yes |
| Apple Watch | No | Yes (native app) |
| Vision Pro | No | Yes (native app) |
| Sync | iCloud + many third-party services (Feedbin, Feedly, Inoreader, NewsBlur, BazQux, FreshRSS…) | iCloud, plus peer-to-peer (no cloud required) |
| Privacy | Strong; open source | Strong; collects zero data |
| Tags / smart groups / blocklists | Limited | Yes |
| OPML import/export | Yes | Yes |
| YouTube feeds | Via RSS | Yes, with media handling |
| Maturity | Long history, very mature | Newer, updated almost weekly |
Where NetNewsWire wins
Let’s be fair: NetNewsWire is free, open source, and has years of polish behind it. If you already sync your feeds through Feedbin, Feedly, Inoreader, or another service, NetNewsWire supports those accounts directly — Newsbin doesn’t. For people committed to a third-party sync backend, that alone can be the deciding factor. It’s a beloved app for good reason, and “free and open source” is hard to argue with.
Where Newsbin wins
The thing Newsbin does that almost nothing else does: it’s genuinely native on all five Apple platforms. NetNewsWire is macOS and iOS/iPadOS only — there’s no Apple Watch app and no Vision Pro app. If you want to glance at headlines on your wrist, or read feeds floating in space on Vision Pro, Newsbin is built for that.
Beyond reach, Newsbin leans into curation and privacy: tags, smart groups, and blocklists to shape exactly what you see; iCloud sync or direct peer-to-peer sync with no cloud at all; YouTube channels alongside normal feeds; and zero data collection. It’s also under very active development — updates land almost every week.
How to choose
- You want free and open source, or you sync via Feedbin/Feedly/etc. → NetNewsWire.
- You live across many Apple devices, especially Apple Watch or Vision Pro → Newsbin.
- You want tags, smart groups, and blocklists to filter the noise → Newsbin.
- You want a one-time purchase and no third-party account → Newsbin (lifetime option).
- You’re an open-source purist → NetNewsWire.
Both are private, native, and respect your attention — which is honestly more than most of the reading apps out there can say. You can’t really go wrong. But if “native on every Apple device, with zero tracking and no lock-in” is what you’re after, that’s exactly why I built Newsbin.