NetNewsWire

What NetNewsWire is

NetNewsWire is a free, open-source RSS reader for following articles from blogs and news sites and keeping track of what you have read. It supports RSS, Atom, JSON Feed, and RSS-in-JSON. Reading tools include customizable article themes, Reader view, starred articles, and smart feeds for All Unread and Today. Reader view sends pages to a server hosted by Feedbin for processing, and article text extraction is not guaranteed for every page.

For managing subscriptions, NetNewsWire supports folders, multiple accounts, search, and importing or exporting OPML feed lists. You can sync through iCloud, Feedbin, Feedly, BazQux, Inoreader, NewsBlur, The Old Reader, or FreshRSS. A Safari extension helps with adding feeds from the browser, while sharing options include Mail, MarsEdit, Micro.blog, Notes, Messages, and more. Mac features include a customizable toolbar, multiple windows, and AppleScript support. The current site lists support for macOS 15 and newer and iOS 26 and newer. NetNewsWire was founded in 2002, is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and is credited to Brent Simmons; it is made in Seattle and around the world. Its privacy policy says crash logs are collected only from users who opt in, while website traffic is logged and viewed in aggregate.

Who it suits

NetNewsWire suits readers who want to follow blog and news feeds across Mac and iOS, organize subscriptions, and sync through a supported service. It also fits people who want an open-source reader with article themes, smart feeds, and feed list import and export.

Limits

NetNewsWire is free and open source. The listed system requirements are macOS 15 or newer and iOS 26 or newer; Reader view cannot guarantee extracting article text from every page.

Getting started

1. Visit netnewswire.com.
2. Use NetNewsWire on a Mac running macOS 15 or newer, or an iOS device running iOS 26 or newer.
3. Add feeds directly or use the Safari extension to make feed adding easier.
4. Organize subscriptions with folders or multiple accounts, and import an OPML feed list if you have one.
5. Choose a listed sync service if you want to sync feeds.

Verdict

Choose NetNewsWire if you want a free, open-source RSS reader with multiple sync options, feed management tools, and apps for Mac and iOS. Look elsewhere if your devices do not meet the listed operating system requirements or if you need guaranteed article text extraction in Reader view.