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NetNewsWire vs Umami

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
Umami logo

Umami

Marketing

Open source, cookie-free web analytics you can self-host for the cost of a database

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: NetNewsWire it has no built in YouTube, Reddit or Mastodon integration, so a user wanting social feeds alongside RSS needs Reeder instead.; Umami there is no cohort analysis, retention curve, session replay or multi-touch attribution, so a marketing team that needs to justify channel spend will still buy a second tool and Umami becomes a supplementary dashboard.
  • They diverge on capability: NetNewsWire covers RSS and Atom parsing, Umami covers Cookie-free tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which NetNewsWire and Umami actually diverge.

Attributes where NetNewsWire and Umami differ
AttributeNetNewsWireUmami
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer month by event count
PlatformsMac, iOSWeb, Linux
CategoryNewsMarketing

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

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 NetNewsWire

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

Only in Umami

  • Cookie-free tracking
  • Self-hosting
  • Small tracking script
  • Custom events
  • Funnels and goals
  • Multi-site and teams
  • Public dashboards
  • API access

What people use each for

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

NetNewsWire

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

Umami

  • A developer who wants traffic numbers on a personal or client site without adding a consent bannernot NetNewsWire
  • An organisation whose legal or procurement team has ruled out sending visitor data to a US advertising companynot NetNewsWire
  • A high-traffic site where hosted analytics priced by pageview band has become expensive and self-hosting removes the ceiling entirelynot NetNewsWire
  • A team that wants analytics data in a database they already control so they can query and join it themselvesnot NetNewsWire

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Umami

  • There is no cohort analysis, retention curve, session replay or multi-touch attribution, so a marketing team that needs to justify channel spend will still buy a second tool and Umami becomes a supplementary dashboard.
  • Self-hosting is only free in licence terms; you own the database, the upgrades, the backups and the query performance at scale, and a busy site's events table grows quickly enough to need real attention.
  • Because it stores no persistent identifier, it cannot follow a user across devices or sessions in any meaningful way, which makes returning-visitor and lifetime-value questions unanswerable by design rather than by omission.
  • Cloud overage is billed per event beyond the plan allowance, so a traffic spike or a badly instrumented custom event can produce a bill materially above the $20 or $200 headline before anyone notices.
  • It is maintained by a small team, so the pace of new capability is modest and enterprise expectations such as SSO, granular role permissions and formal support agreements are limited compared with commercial analytics vendors.

Pricing, plan by plan

NetNewsWire

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

Umami

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • MIT licensed, no licence fee
    • No event limit imposed by the software
    • Unlimited websites and users
  • Cloud HobbyFree
    • Up to 100,000 events per month
    • 3 websites
    • 6 months data retention
  • Cloud Pro$20/month
    • Up to 1,000,000 events per month
    • Unlimited websites
    • Unlimited team members
  • Cloud Business$200/month
    • Up to 10,000,000 events per month
    • All Pro features
    • Higher volume overage rate

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Umami if

  • You need cookie-free tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux.
  • You also want self-hosting.
Umami review

Questions people ask

Is NetNewsWire or Umami better?
Neither clearly leads. NetNewsWire starts at Free and Umami at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, NetNewsWire or Umami?
NetNewsWire starts at Free and Umami at Free.
Does NetNewsWire or Umami run on more platforms?
NetNewsWire runs on Mac, iOS. Umami runs on Web, Linux.
Can I use NetNewsWire for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is NetNewsWire best used for?
NetNewsWire is most often used for a reader who only wants traditional rss and atom feeds with no cap and no cost, someone who tried reeder free tier, hit the ten feed limit, and wants an unlimited free alternative instead, a developer who wants an open source reader they can inspect or contribute to on github, a user who wants feed sync through an existing feedbin or feedly account without paying for a separate reader subscription. Of those, a reader who only wants traditional rss and atom feeds with no cap and no cost and someone who tried reeder free tier, hit the ten feed limit, and wants an unlimited free alternative instead are not what Umami is typically brought in for.
What can NetNewsWire do that Umami cannot?
NetNewsWire covers RSS and Atom parsing, Third party sync, Unlimited feeds, Smart feeds. Umami covers Cookie-free tracking, Self-hosting, Small tracking script, Custom events.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

NetNewsWire: Is NetNewsWire free?

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

Umami: Is Umami really free?

Self-hosted, yes; it is MIT licensed with no event cap. You pay for the server and database. Umami Cloud has a free tier at 100,000 events a month and paid tiers from $20.

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.

Umami: Do I need a cookie consent banner?

For Umami analytics specifically, generally no, because it sets no cookies and stores no personal data. Other tags on your site may still require one.

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.

Umami: Can it replace Google Analytics?

For traffic, referrers and event counts, yes. For attribution modelling, audiences and advertising integration, no.

Umami: What does it need to run?

A container and a PostgreSQL or MySQL database. Most people deploy it on infrastructure they already pay for.

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