Softwr

News · head to head

Flipboard vs NetNewsWire

Flipboard logo

Flipboard

News

Your personal magazine for news and stories

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
NetNewsWire logo

NetNewsWire

News

Free open source RSS reader for Mac and iOS, with no subscription, no ads and no feed limit

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Flipboard no pricing information is published on the website; NetNewsWire it has no built in YouTube, Reddit or Mastodon integration, so a user wanting social feeds alongside RSS needs Reeder instead.
  • They diverge on capability: Flipboard covers Magazine-style layout, NetNewsWire covers RSS and Atom parsing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Flipboard and NetNewsWire actually diverge.

Attributes where Flipboard and NetNewsWire differ
AttributeFlipboardNetNewsWire
Pricing modelfreeOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidMac, iOS
Founded2010Unknown

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

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 Flipboard

  • Magazine-style layout
  • Content curation
  • Topic discovery
  • Smart magazines
  • Social sharing
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

Only in NetNewsWire

  • RSS and Atom parsing
  • Third party sync
  • Unlimited feeds
  • Smart feeds
  • Local search
  • Open source

What people use each for

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

Flipboard

  • News consumptionnot NetNewsWire
  • Content discoverynot NetNewsWire
  • Magazine creationnot NetNewsWire
  • Social readingnot NetNewsWire

NetNewsWire

  • A reader who only wants traditional RSS and Atom feeds with no cap and no costnot Flipboard
  • Someone who tried Reeder free tier, hit the ten feed limit, and wants an unlimited free alternative insteadnot Flipboard
  • A developer who wants an open source reader they can inspect or contribute to on GitHubnot Flipboard
  • A user who wants feed sync through an existing Feedbin or Feedly account without paying for a separate reader subscriptionnot Flipboard

Where each one falls short

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

Flipboard

  • No pricing information is published on the website

NetNewsWire

  • It has no built in YouTube, Reddit or Mastodon integration, so a user wanting social feeds alongside RSS needs Reeder instead.
  • Cross-device sync requires a third party account such as Feedbin or Feedly for full functionality, which may itself carry its own cost.
  • As a volunteer-maintained project, new feature development and release cadence are slower than a funded commercial app.
  • It is Apple platforms only, with no Windows, Android or web client.
  • Its reading interface is more traditional and less gesture-driven than Reeder, which some users used to modern touch interactions find plainer.

Pricing, plan by plan

Flipboard

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited reading
    • Personalized feeds
    • Magazine creation

NetNewsWire

Free
  • NetNewsWireFree
    • Free and open source, no account required
    • No feed limit
    • Optional third party sync services

Which should you pick?

Choose Flipboard if

  • You need magazine-style layout.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want content curation.
Flipboard review

Choose NetNewsWire if

  • You need rss and atom parsing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Mac, iOS.
  • You also want third party sync.
NetNewsWire review

Questions people ask

Is Flipboard or NetNewsWire better?
Neither clearly leads. Flipboard starts at Free and NetNewsWire at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Flipboard or NetNewsWire?
Flipboard starts at Free and NetNewsWire at Free.
Does Flipboard or NetNewsWire run on more platforms?
Flipboard runs on Web, Ios, Android. NetNewsWire runs on Mac, iOS.
Can I use Flipboard for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Flipboard best used for?
Flipboard is most often used for news consumption, content discovery, magazine creation, social reading. Of those, news consumption and content discovery are not what NetNewsWire is typically brought in for.
What can Flipboard do that NetNewsWire cannot?
Flipboard covers Magazine-style layout, Content curation, Topic discovery, Smart magazines. NetNewsWire covers RSS and Atom parsing, Third party sync, Unlimited feeds, Smart feeds.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Flipboard: How much does Flipboard cost?

No pricing information is disclosed on Flipboard's website. The service provides options to sign up and log in, but the specific pricing model or whether the service is free or paid is not stated.

Source
NetNewsWire: Is NetNewsWire free?

Yes, entirely, and it is open source with no paid tier or ads.

Flipboard: Is Flipboard free or paid?

Flipboard's pricing model is not disclosed on their public website. Users can access the platform by signing up or logging in, but costs and features associated with different tiers are not published.

Source
NetNewsWire: Does NetNewsWire sync across devices?

Yes, through third party sync services such as Feedbin, Feedly or iCloud, rather than a proprietary sync system of its own.

NetNewsWire: Does it support YouTube or Reddit like the new Reeder?

No. It is focused purely on RSS and Atom feeds with no social feed integration.

Share

Related pages

More on Flipboard

More on NetNewsWire

Keep looking

Other head to heads