How to choose an RSS reader
Ask three questions. How many feeds do you follow, since free tiers often cap counts? Do you want a hosted service or software you run yourself? Do you also want newsletters, search and AI features in the same place?
For Feedly itself, no plan details could be sourced for this guide. Check Feedly's own pricing page for current plans.
Inoreader
Inoreader lists Free, Pro and Custom plans. Free allows 150 RSS feeds, while Pro allows 2,500, and newsletter feeds are Pro only with a limit of 20 (pricing).
Pro costs EUR 6.67 per month billed annually or EUR 8.99 billed monthly, in euros, and includes 30 rules and automatic OPML backups (pricing). Native iPhone, iPad and Android apps exist, and browser use requires an active subscription per its FAQ.
NewsBlur
NewsBlur's free tier allows up to 64 sites with free iOS and Android apps. Premium is $36 per year for 1,024 sites, Premium Archive is $99 per year for 4,096 sites with Ask AI and a full searchable archive, and Premium Pro is $29 per month for 10,000 sites, with a 30-day trial and no card (homepage).
It is fully open source under the MIT license and offers a single-command Docker install for self-hosting. OPML import covers all subscriptions and folders, including Google Reader, Feedly and Inoreader exports (homepage).
Feedbin
Feedbin lists one plan: a free 30-day trial, then $7 a month or $70 a year (homepage).
It moves newsletters out of your inbox, with each account getting its own email address, and it works with iOS, Mac and Android clients such as Reeder, NetNewsWire, Unread, ReadKit and Airshow (homepage).
Miniflux (self-hosted)
Miniflux is a free, open-source project distributed under the permissive Apache 2.0 License, designed to be self-hosted by dropping the binary on your server (official site).
It also offers paid hosting at $15 per year with a 15-day trial (official site).
FreshRSS (self-hosted)
FreshRSS is a free, self-hosted RSS and Atom feed aggregator, licensed as free software under AGPL 3 (official site).
It supports importing and exporting your feeds with OPML, and mobile access comes through third-party apps (official site).
Readwise Reader
Readwise Reader lets you subscribe to site RSS feeds, and an OPML file can carry your subscriptions over in one step (official page). It also handles newsletters, kept out of your inbox.
Beyond feeds, it saves full articles, PDFs, EPUBs, YouTube videos and X threads, and works offline with apps and extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Safari (official page).
Where KnowMan fits
KnowMan is a knowledge base, not a dedicated RSS reader. It reads and organizes what arrives: RSS feeds and newsletters are listed as Pro features on the KnowMan pricing page. Free is $0, Pro is $12.99 a month or $99 a year, and a 14-day Pro trial needs no credit card.
It imports from Pocket, Instapaper, Omnivore, Readwise, Wallabag and a browser bookmarks file, the extension works in Chrome, and an MCP server for Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor lets agents search and ask questions over your saved reading. For heavy feed reading with timelines and folders, a dedicated reader above fits better.
How to choose
For a free hosted start with a feed cap, Inoreader. For open source with a generous tier structure and self-host option, NewsBlur. For one simple paid service with newsletters, Feedbin. To run your own server, Miniflux or FreshRSS. To read feeds inside a wider reading library, Readwise Reader. For AI answers over what arrives, KnowMan.
Questions people ask
What is the cheapest paid Feedly alternative?
Among sourced options, Miniflux paid hosting is $15 per year (official site), Feedbin is $7 a month or $70 a year (homepage), and NewsBlur Premium is $36 per year (homepage). Feedly's own prices are not stated here.
Which of these readers import OPML files?
FreshRSS imports and exports OPML (official site), Readwise Reader imports OPML (official page), and NewsBlur imports OPML from Google Reader, Feedly and Inoreader exports (homepage).
Is KnowMan an RSS reader?
No. KnowMan is a knowledge base that reads and organizes what arrives, with RSS and newsletter support on Pro. It is not a dedicated RSS reader with timelines and feed folders.