The Best Free RSS Readers for Windows, Mac and Linux

As I am probably not the only one to look for an RSS reader I decided to share my list of those I think are the best ones.

Most people until 2013 used Google Reader for RSS (and Atom) feeds but then Google decided to shut it down.

I listed it here originally in my list of the best free cross-platform RSS readers (also referred to as feedreaders by many) along with alternatives. Cross platform means they work on Windows, Mac and Linux.

3 of the best RSS readers are open source software, two of them are based on the Java programming language, that's why they work on all operating systems.
1 of them is a Firefox extension (add ons) and works on all systems as Firefox itself is cross platform
2 of them are web based feed readers. It means they work in your browser like any website.
1 is a mail client that can also be used for feeds.

So here is the list, the standalone desktop programs first:

RSSOwl - Probably the most popular free open source RSS reader, nice clean interface, supports dozens of languages
BlogBridge - Simple, browser-like interface, also open source and quite popular newsreader
BottomFeeder - It's a complex open source RSS reader for the power user
Sage - Sage is by now an established Firefox Add on for RSS. It's been very simple and easy to use
Feedly - Feedly, a newer RSS Firefox extension offers a magazine like display of your feeds thus adapts to your natural reading habits. Originally it required Google Reader, not anymore!
Google Reader - AJAX enhanced and most popular web based RSS reader, using the typical Google colors and fonts. Allows easy sharing of items
Netvibes - Netvibes is more a web based starting page than a stand alone RSS reader but you can use it like one, you can share items too
Thunderbird - The popular mail client by the Mozilla Foundation, the makers of Firefox, can also be used as an RSS reader. Reading news like this saves time but can also be distracting.

Are newsreaders, feed readers, Atom and RSS readers the same? Yes and no, I prefer the term RSS reader even though they also support Atom feeds (just another RSS-like format) because there is an RSS Reader software called Feedreader. I do not want you to mix them up.

I did not include Feedreader here as it only works on Windows and Linux while the online version is only rudimentary.

"Newsreader" might refer to the so called Usenet, a part of the Internet that came before the Web and still is used by some people. Usenet newsgroup readers are not the same as RSS newsreaders.

Originally published: September 27th, 2007. Last updated: March 14th, 2013.

* Creative Commons image by Lorrie McClanahan.

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March 14, 2013 · Blogging, Definitions, whatever

23 Responses

Wallace September 27, 2007 at 12:11 ·

i do use web-based rss reader only like Newshutch.
here is one more i suggest, Feedraider.
onreact September 27, 2007 at 15:52 ·

This one here: http://feedraider.com/ ?
Skellie September 28, 2007 at 14:09 ·

I thought you hated feeds, Tad ;).
onreact September 28, 2007 at 20:10 ·

Yes. I see you are a dilligent reader. My first draft of this post was half explanation why I changed my mind, but then I thought nobody cares and the target audience are the Google visitors anyways as you all already use RSS readers.

I you followed my last 3 or so “great blogs” posts you might have wondered how I manage to read them all without a feed reader ;-)

So finally I had to change my reading habits. And it’s all your fault! Stop writing so many different great blogs! Get a life! And give me a break! Damn blogging bastards!
Skellie October 3, 2007 at 13:08 ·

Haha, I know the feeling. My bookmarks are cluttered beyond belief without having a bunch of blogs in there. I think you’ll like RSS :)

Google Reader is my current choice though I can’t review it against the other options because I haven’t tried them.
Leslie Gilmour December 25, 2007 at 03:52 ·

Just spent an age looking for readers – my searching has to get better. Thanks for the list.
Kyle January 22, 2008 at 02:31 ·

Netvibes is the best… I honestly couldn’t live without it at this point! And I can use it on any computer no matter where I am.
100+ Useful Web Resources for Small Business and Non Profits | BlogWell February 11, 2008 at 21:48 ·

[...] The best 10 RSS readers for Windows, Mac and Linux [...]
Josef Assad May 4, 2008 at 23:12 ·

RSSOwl is unlikely to be the most popular f/loss rss reader irrespective of stretches of imagination.

I’d suspect liferea would take that title, and if not then it would come second to akregator.
Tim May 21, 2008 at 14:00 ·

Help!

(Heh. I love the dramatic first-timer entry.)

I’ve been wanting to get away from Bloglines for a while now, because the number of feeds I subscribe to and the complexity of my needs is soaring.

However, almost every feature-filled application-based x-platform reader totally screws up content-rich feeds. Take RSSOwl, for example. Half the time, graphics and nice formatting disappear from feeds that look great in Bloglines.

This means I’m finding myself tied to a browser-based reader, when I’m really trying to get away from one. Can you recommend something that’s app based, but offers similar functionality to Bloglines?
Adam Gurney September 25, 2008 at 01:18 ·

All of the RSS you mentioned are the best ones and at the same time, the most popular ones. Of my my favorites is actually is Newsgator because, well in my case, it brought me the most readers.
Miles Edgeworth April 21, 2009 at 13:33 ·

You do a roundup of RSS Newsreaders for the Mac platform as well and don’t even mention NetNewsWire? Shame on you! :)
onreact April 21, 2009 at 16:58 ·

Miles: This is a cross-platform list. Thus I listed only tools that work on all three major operating systems.
marketingmat April 22, 2009 at 11:00 ·

So much useful information here, i really need to bookmark this site at home so i can look at it at my leisure. I dont use rss readers much myself, but my colleagues do, so i’ll pass this to them.
James Robertson April 26, 2009 at 19:42 ·

BottomFeeder is written in Smalltalk, as an FYI :)
NEWS RELEASE: Cincom Smalltalk RSS Reader Ranked “One of Best” :: Cincom Newsroom April 29, 2009 at 22:31 ·

[...] Cincom’s RSS Reader BottomFeeder, powered by its Smalltalk application development language, ranks as one of the “12 Best RSS Readers for Windows, Mac and Linux,” according to the SEO Blog. [...]
Nikita Sumeiko December 10, 2009 at 09:09 ·

I use Google Reader and it’s OK for me. But thanks for your listing! Hope geeks who are looking for a solution will be glad to read your post!
Daryl Osswald April 28, 2010 at 20:55 ·

I need an RSS reader that can search all the readers out there and locate by region, city, or geographical anything. I can type in keyword + Los Angeles, but that only searches for feeds with “los Angeles” + keyword in them, not RSS feeds from the Los Angeles area. Help!!!!
Faraz May 8, 2010 at 01:21 ·

Hi All,
Checkout feedbook RSS reader at http://csharplive.wordpress.com/2010/05/02/feedbook-released/
vant May 31, 2010 at 11:01 ·

So much useful information here, i really need to bookmark this site at home so i can look at it at my leisure. I dont use rss readers much myself, but my colleagues do, so i’ll pass this to them.
RSS – what, why and how? | Stemwinder July 7, 2010 at 00:11 ·

[...] Google’s Reader (free, via your Google account) or natively within Internet Explorer (and there dozens of other RSS clients out [...]
Jo March 17, 2011 at 14:45 ·

http://www.getwebreader.com
Read the web! Best rss reader!
Mark Sim June 20, 2011 at 08:29 ·

You say you’d use Google too much, is there a possibility that you use Firefox too much as well? I suspect I am, because my Firefox takes yonks to open. Apart from the usual SEO plug-ins, I depend heavily on it for stocks as well; adding to my preferred theme of mainly black, sometimes redirecting my RSS needs to Google seems like the most logical thing to do, although I am a big fan of Sage.