Reeder vs Feedly: Classic or New? (2026)

Choose Reeder Classic if you want a native Apple reading app connected to Feedly. Choose the new Reeder for an iCloud-synced timeline without read/unread states, or Feedly itself for a cloud reader. According to Reeder’s help page, the new app’s free version is limited to 10 feeds.

The confusing part of Reeder vs Feedly is the name. Two Reeder apps remain available, and they sync differently. Buying the new app won't give your Feedly account a new interface. Decide whether you want to keep that account or move your feed list before you compare subscription prices.

This guide covers that decision, current US prices, free limits and what an OPML move leaves behind. For the wider choice of cloud services and self-hosted readers, use our Feedly alternatives guide. This is a documentation-based comparison, with prices checked on October 5, 2026; it does not claim hands-on speed or reliability testing.

1. Are Reeder and Reeder Classic the same app?

Reeder and Reeder Classic are separate apps with different reading models. Classic is the older RSS client, sold as a one-time purchase. The new Reeder combines several content types in a timeline. According to the developer’s Classic page, Classic remains available for readers who prefer traditional RSS.

Check the app’s full name rather than its icon. An older review can accurately describe a Classic feature while making it sound as though today’s Reeder has it. That confusion is easy to miss when you’re looking for a Feedly connection and both apps share a familiar name. If you already own Classic and like using it, you can stay there. The new subscription is a separate purchase, and its different reading model needs to suit you. Think about how you catch up: do you keep individual articles unread, resume from a saved timeline position, or browse several kinds of media together? That habit will tell you which Reeder to compare.

2. Feedly sync belongs to Reeder Classic

Reeder Classic can connect to Feedly; the new Reeder cannot. The Classic service list explicitly includes Feedly. The newer app’s documentation explains that third-party sync is not planned around its scroll-position model. Exporting and importing subscriptions creates a separate reading setup rather than a continuing Feedly connection.

With Classic, your account stays in Feedly and you read through Classic’s interface. Keeping subscriptions in that account lets another Feedly-compatible client use the same library. It’s a sensible arrangement if you prefer a native app on your phone and still open Feedly in a browser at work. Check the client’s features before you buy, especially if a particular Feedly function is the reason you want it. Research boards, account management and AI settings can require Feedly’s own interface. You may be happy to switch apps for those jobs; you may want everything in the same place. The supported service list confirms the account connection. The app’s documentation is where you check the functions you’ll use.

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"Support for these services is not currently planned." Silvio Rizzi, Reeder developer, on third-party sync in the new app’s FAQ. This statement concerns the new Reeder; Classic’s separate service list includes Feedly.

Source: the new app’s FAQ.

3. Should you track unread items or a timeline position?

Classic and Feedly suit a reading queue; the new Reeder suits returning to a point in a timeline. These are different ways to track progress. Reeder’s timeline controls include a Today action covering the last 24 hours, rather than a requirement to clear every article.

A queue works well for a small set of sources you want to review closely. Leave an article unread and it waits for you. With a timeline, you return near where you stopped and browse from there. That can feel less demanding when catching up on every entry is optional. Think about what happens when you skip a story. A source you monitor for work may need explicit tracking, even if its unread count gets irritating. For casual reading, a saved position may be enough. Neither model picks the important stories for you: the quiet timeline still contains whatever its sources publish, and an organized queue still needs attention. Choose the way of keeping your place that fits the reading you need to do.

4. Check access on the devices you use

The new Reeder is an Apple app; Feedly also provides a web reading interface. According to the current Reeder App Store listing, it requires iOS 17, iPadOS 17 or macOS 14 and later. Check the devices you actually use before comparing app features.

Reading on an iPhone at home and a Windows laptop at work makes browser access part of the choice. An Apple-only setup has a different set of needs. Check your usual reading locations, including the computer you use for work, before you pay for an interface you like on your phone. Classic on compatible Apple devices can sit alongside a Feedly account you also use on the web. That option matters if you want a native app without giving up browser access. Work restrictions matter too: a computer that doesn’t permit iCloud needs another arrangement. Our Mac RSS reader guide covers the wider native-app choice if you’re still deciding which interface you prefer.

5. Which free plan can hold your feed list?

Feedly Free accommodates more RSS subscriptions than the new Reeder Free. According to Feedly’s personal-plan page, Free supports 100 feeds in 3 folders. Reeder’s FAQ documents a 10-feed free limit and says OPML import is unavailable in that version, so a bulk move requires a paid choice.

Count your active sources before paying. Ten well-chosen feeds may cover a small personal reading list comfortably. An established library is harder to squeeze into that limit, especially if the point of moving is to keep all the sources you already follow. Check import access as well as capacity; an app can have an import feature that its free tier doesn’t include. Feedly’s folder cap deserves its own check. Your source count can fit while your preferred organization still needs more folders than the free plan provides. Look at how you use the library now. Are you running out of room for sources, struggling to organize them, or missing a paid feature? Buy the plan that addresses that constraint instead of assuming every upgrade solves the same problem.

6. Current US prices and the outdated FAQ

The new Reeder’s live US App Store price is $1.99 monthly or $14.99 yearly. Its FAQ still quotes $1 monthly or $10 yearly. Use the current store listing and your checkout price for purchasing decisions. Reeder Classic has separate one-time iPhone/iPad and Mac purchases.

Old reviews still repeat the earlier subscription price, so the mismatch can affect a buying decision. Reeder’s help page explains how the app works, but its billing figures don’t currently match the store. Use the listed source when comparing a price and check what your checkout displays. Classic’s Mac app has a separate listing from the iPhone/iPad app. Add a Feedly subscription to those purchases if you need a paid service plan. Your store currency, local taxes or existing subscriber terms can affect the bill. Our Feedly Pro and Pro+ pricing guide covers the service plans in more detail when that’s the part you need to choose.

Sources: Classic for iPhone/iPad, Classic for Mac, new Reeder subscriptions and Feedly plans. Feedly’s Pro+ introductory and regular figures are displayed together; they are annual billing equivalents, not a month-to-month quote.

7. Is yearly billing the right choice?

Yearly Reeder billing costs less than twelve payments at the current monthly price. Using the US App Store figures, $1.99 × 12 is $23.88, compared with $14.99 yearly. The $8.89 difference is straightforward price arithmetic, not a measured productivity saving.

Try the reading model with a small feed list before committing to a year. The lower annual total helps if you like the app. If returning to a timeline position feels wrong for your reading, the discount won’t fix that. You can make the workflow decision before making the longer billing commitment. Read Feedly’s prices with the billing period in mind too. A monthly figure beside annual billing is the yearly charge divided into monthly units; it doesn’t mean you can buy a single month at that price. Check the amount due upfront and the renewal terms. For Classic with Feedly, add the app purchases to the service plan you choose. They are separate costs, even though you’ll use them together.

8. Keep Feedly when you depend on its library

Keep Feedly when its account, web interface or paid research features are part of your workflow. Its current plan page places 1,000 feeds on Pro and 2,500 on Pro+. Choosing a different reading app is a separate decision from replacing the service that holds your subscriptions.

Feedly’s customer examples include people monitoring an organization across several sources. That work involves more than browsing a few personal feeds. A native app may make the articles more comfortable to read while you continue using the cloud account for the rest of the job. Before moving, open the Feedly features you use outside the article viewer. Look through your saved boards and try the searches or filters you return to. Decide how you would do that work after a move. If you’d still need to return to Feedly, pairing Classic with the account may save you from maintaining a second library. Copying the source list will give another reader those subscriptions, but you still need a place for your research workflow.

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"We use Feedly to monitor the MIT brand." Stephanie Hatch, MIT, quoted in Feedly’s customer examples. This describes a monitoring workflow; it does not compare Reeder’s performance.

Source: Feedly’s customer examples.

9. Can you move Feedly subscriptions into the new Reeder?

You can move public RSS subscriptions with OPML, but that move does not connect the new Reeder to Feedly. Feedly documents export through its web app. Reeder documents OPML import as unavailable on its free 10-feed tier. Keep the distinction between a copied subscription list and live account sync.

Follow Feedly’s official export instructions and save a local copy of the exported file. Before paying for the new app, check its import requirements. Once you’ve copied the subscriptions, the readers follow those public sources separately. Future changes in your Feedly account won’t carry across that file transfer. Test a few familiar sources after importing. Open a current article from each and check the content and organization against what you expect to find. Keep your original account available while you do this. Seeing the source names in the new reader is a useful first check, but you also need to confirm the everyday reading works. The import alone doesn’t confirm that historical articles or reading states moved with the subscriptions.

10. What an OPML file leaves behind

Feedly’s OPML export is a public RSS subscription list, not a full account backup. According to Feedly’s export documentation, it excludes Boards, Read Later articles, Feedly AI Feeds and Reddit feeds. Plan for those separate collections before treating an import as a completed migration.

You may recognize all the source names after importing and still find that the library feels incomplete. The new app fetches entries from those sources. The articles you deliberately saved in a board remain elsewhere. Check those collections before you start relying on the new reader. Review saved material and retain anything you need through a separate method suited to that content. A Feedly board won’t become a public RSS subscription because you include it in an export attempt. Reading progress also needs a separate check. An OPML file doesn’t guarantee that another app understands the states or annotations your old service kept. Work through the material you care about before deciding that the feed list is everything you need to move.

11. Does Reader View replace a publisher subscription?

Reader View changes how an available article is displayed; it is not a publisher subscription. Reeder Classic’s feature page describes Reader View and its per-feed automatic option. The $4.99 mobile app purchase and $9.99 Mac purchase buy the reading software, not paid access to every linked publication.

A short feed excerpt may still send you to the original article to finish reading. If that publication requires a subscription, keep the publisher account and check its supported reading options. Reader software doesn’t grant access the publisher hasn’t supplied, even when its article view is easier to read. Choose a familiar source for a quick check. Open its feed entry and compare it with the article you normally read in a browser. Look for the text you need and see whether the layout is comfortable for a longer session. Publishers put different amounts of content in their feeds. A check with your own sources tells you more than a blanket promise of full-text or offline access across every website.

12. Check newsletter intake separately from RSS

A Feedly connection does not automatically make every Reeder setup an email newsletter inbox. Feedly’s plan documentation places newsletter following on Pro+. Its displayed introductory annual equivalent is $99. Check newsletter intake independently from public RSS subscriptions and from the app you use to read them.

List which sources arrive by email and which you follow through public feeds. Those delivery methods need different handling when you move. Exporting RSS subscriptions won’t tell a newsletter publisher to change your email address, and it won’t create an inbox for receiving future issues. If most of your reading comes from public feeds, start with the RSS client choice. If it arrives by email, look at newsletter support while you choose the service. Classic’s interface can still appeal to you, but a public-feed import alone won’t arrange email delivery. Follow each source through the setup you’re considering: where does its next issue arrive, and where will you open it? That check catches gaps a successful RSS import can leave behind.

If you want a scheduled digest, see how RSS feeds and newsletters can arrive in one briefing. Compare that plan with the reader setup you’d otherwise keep. Pro includes source summaries and Hot Topics; Max adds Synthesis across sources. Check the originals when a detail matters.

Start Readless Free →

Our digest workflow explanation shows what happens to each input. Keep the original source links available so you can open a complete article when you want more detail.

13. Which AI features stay in Feedly?

Feedly Pro+ adds AI feeds and filtering; a Reeder app purchase does not buy those Feedly features. Feedly’s deduplication documentation describes near-exact duplicates with 85% or more overlap and excludes entries shorter than 200 characters. That is more specific than merging every source covering one story.

Feedly’s near-exact duplicate filter addresses repeated material, such as the same press release appearing in several feeds. Summarizing several distinct articles on a subject is a different task. When you compare these features, check the result you want: fewer duplicate entries, an easier article view, or a short digest of the material. A connected client also needs its own feature check. If a filter is the reason you pay for Pro+, find where you configure it and where its result appears. Don’t assume everything you see in Feedly’s web interface is reproduced in the client. Keeping Feedly behind another reading app can let you retain the service; replacing Feedly requires deciding how you’ll handle the functions you’ve been using there.

14. A free native Feedly client is another option

NetNewsWire is a free native alternative if you want a Feedly-connected Apple app without buying Classic. Its current official site lists Feedly sync and OPML support. NetNewsWire 7 requires macOS 15 or newer and iOS 26 or newer, so device compatibility remains part of the decision.

Try NetNewsWire if the native interface is the main reason you’re considering Classic. You can keep the Feedly account and compare the reading experience without paying for another app first. That gives you a useful reference when deciding whether Classic’s interface is worth buying for your routine. Keep the reading model in mind during that comparison. NetNewsWire’s traditional RSS queue serves a different purpose from the new Reeder’s mixed-media timeline. Choose the model that fits how you read, then compare the interfaces within that group. The broader reader guides cover the full market. Here, NetNewsWire is another way to keep Feedly while choosing an Apple app to read through.

15. Which setup should you choose?

Choose Classic plus Feedly to keep Feedly behind a native interface, the new Reeder to change your reading model, or Feedly directly to keep a web-centered workflow. The new app’s 10-feed free limit makes it a small-scale trial. A larger account or a bulk import needs a separate plan decision.

Write down what you want to change before comparing the rest. Better typography or easier navigation may only require a different client. To get away from tracking unread articles, you need to consider the timeline model itself. If the problem is the amount of material arriving, a nicer article viewer may leave you with just as much to read. Use the table below to match a setup to that problem. It’s a decision aid based on documented features, not a ranking from hands-on testing. Each option keeps a different part of the current workflow. Start with the change you can describe, then check whether you’re giving up a feature you still use.

16. A practical check before changing readers

A successful reader change preserves the parts of your workflow you still need. Start with the version name, access on your devices and the feed list. Feedly’s OPML file excludes four named collections or feed types: Boards, Read Later articles, AI Feeds and Reddit feeds. Review those separately before moving.

Try the new setup during an ordinary reading session before making it your default. Use sources you already follow. Pay attention to how you resume reading and what happens when you save an article or return to a source. Those routine actions deserve more attention than the appearance of a freshly imported library. Keep the old account available during that check. You’re ready to move when the new setup lets you do the work you wanted to preserve. If you end up tending two disconnected libraries, consider whether the extra maintenance is worth it for the new interface. Where shared state matters, a client connected to the existing service may be the easier arrangement to keep using.

1. Check whether the app you mean is Reeder Classic or the new Reeder.
2. Confirm access on your phone, tablet and work computer.
3. Count the sources you want to keep and check the free-plan limits.
4. Review saved articles and excluded feed types before exporting.
5. Test a familiar reading session before changing your default workflow.

If you want a digest after trying those reading models, review the current digest plans. Pick a reader when you want to read entries yourself; pick a summary workflow when you want a shorter briefing and links back to the sources.