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News & Media · head to head

Artifact vs NewsBlur

A

Artifact

News & Media

AI-powered personalized news discovery

From
Free
Rated
-
NewsBlur logo

NewsBlur

News & Media

A personal news reader bringing people together

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Artifact wound down in early April 2024. Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger closed it, saying the market opportunity was not large enough to keep investing; NewsBlur the free account is limited to 64 sites
  • They diverge on capability: Artifact covers AI recommendations, NewsBlur covers Intelligence training.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Artifact and NewsBlur actually diverge.

Attributes where Artifact and NewsBlur differ
AttributeArtifactNewsBlur
Pricing modelfreefreemium
PlatformsIos, AndroidWeb, Ios, Android
Founded20222010

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (News & Media).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Artifact

  • AI recommendations
  • Article summaries
  • Clickbait detection
  • Social sharing
  • Topic following
  • Social sharing

Only in NewsBlur

  • Intelligence training
  • Story sharing
  • Original site view
  • Text view
  • Blurblogs
  • Pocket
  • Instapaper
  • Evernote

Both cover

  • Ios support
  • Android support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Artifact

  • News consumptionnot NewsBlur
  • Content discoverynot NewsBlur
  • Staying informednot NewsBlur

NewsBlur

  • Reading RSS feeds with training that filters by author, tag or titlenot Artifact
  • Archiving full article content from followed sitesnot Artifact
  • Following a large number of feeds with fast refreshnot Artifact

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Artifact

  • Wound down in early April 2024. Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger closed it, saying the market opportunity was not large enough to keep investing
  • Yahoo acquired the personalisation technology and folded it into Yahoo News, so the app itself is not coming back
  • The founders stayed only in an advisory capacity through the transition

NewsBlur

  • The free account is limited to 64 sites
  • Search and text view extraction require Premium at $36 per year
  • Premium is capped at 1,024 sites and Premium Archive at 4,096 sites
  • Full content archiving and the Daily Briefing require Premium Archive at $99 per year
  • The fastest 5 to 15 minute feed refresh and regex training require Premium Pro at $29 per month
  • Site following is capped at 10,000 even on the top tier

Pricing, plan by plan

Artifact

Free
  • FreeFree
    • AI-powered recommendations
    • Article summaries
    • Social features

NewsBlur

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 64 sites
    • Basic training
    • Web and mobile
  • Premium$36/year
    • Unlimited sites
    • Full training
    • Priority updates

Which should you pick?

Choose Artifact if

  • You need ai recommendations.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Ios, Android.
  • You also want article summaries.

Choose NewsBlur if

  • You need intelligence training.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want story sharing.

Questions people ask

Is Artifact or NewsBlur better?
Neither clearly leads. Artifact starts at Free and NewsBlur at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Artifact or NewsBlur?
Artifact starts at Free and NewsBlur at Free.
Does Artifact or NewsBlur run on more platforms?
Artifact runs on Ios, Android. NewsBlur runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use Artifact for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Artifact best used for?
Artifact is most often used for news consumption, content discovery, staying informed. Of those, news consumption and content discovery are not what NewsBlur is typically brought in for.
What can Artifact do that NewsBlur cannot?
Artifact covers AI recommendations, Article summaries, Clickbait detection, Social sharing. NewsBlur covers Intelligence training, Story sharing, Original site view, Text view. Both handle Ios support, Android support.

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