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The Big Comparison Of Google Reader RSS Feed Alternatives

Barry Schwartz on June 26, 2013 at 2:14 pm

Google Reader is turning off their feed on July 1st and by now many of you have already switched to a new RSS reader – but, for those of you who have yet to make the jump, keep reading. We wanted to give you a concise chart explaining the features, costs and functionality of some of the larger RSS feed readers on the market.

Since then, many new readers have been built or are in the development phase now. So, this comparison is a supplement to our 12 Google Reader alternatives story released shortly after the Google Reader news was announced.

A major consideration for some is free versus paid. Google Reader was free and they decided to shut down. Some feel that paid options are less likely to shut down. Truth is, just this morning, a paid subscription I had to an online faxing service shut down and did so immediately without warning. So paid versus free, in my opinion, means nothing.

In the chart below, I’ve documented how each of the 14 RSS readers I’ve evaluated line up. The top readers listed in the chart happen to be more popular, followed by other feed readers sorted by alphabetical order. The readers include Feedly, Digg Reader, Newsblur, AOL Reader, BazQux, Feedbin, Feeder, FeedReader, FeedWrangler, G2Reader, InoReader, NetNewsWire, Ridly and The Older Reader. All of these are Web based RSS readers with the exception of NetNewsWire.

Since Google Reader announced closure, many of the readers above are new and still either in beta or quickly adding features within the next few days to next few months.

The chart below details the cost of each app, if they work on the Web versus a desktop client application, if there is a mobile Web browser version, if they have native iOS or Android apps, if they have browser extensions and if they contain APIs for third-party developers.

Personally, I went with Feedly because at the time, the alternatives didn’t quickly take my feeds from Google Reader. In addition, Feedly has been very quick to adapt and make Google Reader like interfaces for heavy RSS users like myself. That doesn’t mean I will stick with Feedly, I will try out Digg Reader — which launched yesterday, and some of the other readers myself. Switching RSS readers is fairly easy, so you should give these a fair shot yourself.

Image credit to ShutterStock

About The Author

Barry Schwartz

Barry Schwartz is Search Engine Land's News Editor and owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry can be followed on social media at @rustybrick, +BarrySchwartz and Facebook. For more background information on Barry, see his full bio and disclosures, click over here.