NewsBlur
What NewsBlur is
NewsBlur is a personal reader for RSS and web feeds, with feeds synced across web, mobile, API, and self-hosted use. Readers can train feeds to highlight or hide stories by author, tag, and title; the Archive plan adds full-text training. Web Feeds monitor websites without RSS and deliver updates in custom feeds. The free plan supports up to 64 sites, real-time RSS updates, saved stories, and iOS and Android apps. New accounts get a 30-day Premium trial without a credit card, then keep their feeds and training on the free tier. Paid plans include Premium at $36 a year, Premium Pro at $29 a month, and Premium Archive at $99 a year. Depending on plan, features include larger site limits, faster feed fetching, search, Web Feeds, story clustering, a permanent searchable archive, Ask AI, and a daily briefing. NewsBlur also describes IFTTT and Zapier workflows, a public API, and sync with third-party readers including Reeder, ReadKit, and Unread. Its code is open source and can run on a user's own instance with a Docker command. Offline reading is noted for iOS.
Who it suits
It suits readers who want to follow RSS and non-RSS sites, train story feeds, or sync reading across platforms. People who want to self-host or use an API and third-party readers may also find those options useful.
What it does well
- Free plan supports up to 64 sites.
- 30-day Premium trial requires no credit card.
- Web Feeds bring non-RSS sites into custom feeds.
- Open-source code can run on a user's own instance.
- Native iOS and Android apps are available.
What to know first
- Free plan is limited to 64 sites.
- Offline reading is noted for iOS.
- Premium Archive costs $99 a year.
- Premium Pro costs $29 a month.
Limits
The free plan supports up to 64 sites. Premium supports up to 1,024 sites, Premium Pro up to 10,000, and Premium Archive up to 4,096; features such as Web Feeds, permanent searchable archives, Ask AI, and daily briefings are included with Archive. The 30-day Premium trial then reverts to the free tier, retaining feeds and training subject to its site limit.
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 64 sites · real-time RSS · author/tag/title training · public blurblog · save stories · iOS and Android apps | Free |
| Premium Pro | $29 /month · 10,000 sites · every feed fetched every 5–15 minutes · regular-expression training · priority support | $29 a month |
| Premium | $36 /year · 1,024 sites · feeds updated up to 5x more often · River of News · search · tagged saved stories · private blurblog · custom RSS · Text view · related-site discovery · text/image classifiers | $36 a year |
| Premium Archive | $99 /year · 4,096 sites · Web Feeds without RSS · duplicate-story clustering · daily briefing · configurable read behavior · permanent searchable archive · back-filled feeds · full-text training · classifier notifications · cross-archive discovery · trained-story export · persistent unread stories · Ask AI · date filtering · folder/global training · MCP server and CLI | $99 a year |
| DIY | Self-Hosted · run your own instance · complete data ownership · Docker single-command installation · customization with Claude Code | On request |
As newsblur.com lists them, read 15 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Getting started
- Open https://www.newsblur.com/ and create a new account.
- Use the 30-day Premium trial without entering a credit card.
- Add feeds; the free tier supports up to 64 sites after the trial.
- Choose Premium, Premium Pro, or Premium Archive for their respective site limits and features.
- Use the iOS or Android app, or run the open-source code on your own instance with a Docker command.
Verdict
NewsBlur combines RSS reading with feed training, Web Feeds, and options for syncing or self-hosting. Its free tier has a 64-site limit, while paid plans add higher limits and features such as search and archiving.
Questions
Is NewsBlur free?
Yes. Its free plan supports up to 64 sites. New accounts also receive a 30-day Premium trial without a credit card, then keep feeds and training on the free tier.
What do the paid plans cost?
Premium costs $36 a year, Premium Pro costs $29 a month, and Premium Archive costs $99 a year.
Which platforms does NewsBlur support?
The listed platforms are Android, iOS, API, self-hosted, and web. Offline reading is noted for iOS.
Is NewsBlur open source?
Yes. NewsBlur says its code is open source and can be run on a user's own instance with a single Docker command.
What does Premium Archive include?
It supports up to 4,096 sites and includes Web Feeds, story clustering, a daily briefing, a permanent searchable archive, Ask AI, an MCP server, and CLI.
Who founded NewsBlur?
NewsBlur's About page names Samuel Clay as its founder. Its first version was built in 2009 and launched publicly in 2010.
Facts from NewsBlur's own pages
- AI features
- Archive includes Ask AI for story questions and an AI-generated Daily Briefing. · newsblur.com, 10 Oct 2026
- API terms
- API users must credit NewsBlur, may charge for applications using it, and may not sell advertising against retrieved data. · newsblur.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Ask AI
- Premium Archive includes questions about stories through an Ask AI feature. · newsblur.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Blurblogs
- Users can share stories and discuss them through NewsBlur blurblogs. · newsblur.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Cancellation
- After cancellation, an account reverts to free and keeps feeds up to the free-tier limit, training, and saved stories. · newsblur.com, 10 Oct 2026
- CLI and MCP
- Premium Archive includes a command-line tool, and the project documents a self-hosted MCP server on port 8099. · github.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Documentation depth
- The repository documents startup, logs, shells, tests, linting, migrations, databases, configuration variables and MCP deployment. · github.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Free-tier limit
- The free plan supports up to 64 sites. · newsblur.com, 10 Oct 2026
- Full-text reading
- Its Text view extracts the article text for reading inside NewsBlur. · newsblur.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The FAQ says NewsBlur connects with IFTTT and Zapier and can automate actions involving Pocket, Instapaper, Evernote, Notion, Slack and email. · newsblur.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Intelligence training
- Users train stories by liking or disliking attributes such as author, tag and title so NewsBlur emphasizes preferred content. · newsblur.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: app reliability
- Google Play reviews report missing stories after the trial, login failures, inconsistent loading, weak source previews and no in-app account management. · play.google.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: dated interface
- Zapier lists dated design as a disadvantage and says River of News requires Premium because free users scroll sites individually. · zapier.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: iOS and Mac usability
- Apple reviewers report gesture regressions, freezes, awkward layouts, image problems and no synchronized preference backup for native apps. · apps.apple.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: mobile and pricing complaints
- Gappsy lists a dated interface, a 64-site free cap, a comparatively expensive $99 Archive tier and less-polished mobile apps. · gappsy.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Maker and founding
- Samuel Clay founded NewsBlur; the company history dates the first build to 2009 and public launch to 2010. · newsblur.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Maker and history
- The About page names Samuel Clay as founder and says NewsBlur's first version was built in 2009 and launched publicly in 2010. · newsblur.com, 10 Oct 2026
- Maker legal address
- Google Play identifies the developer as NewsBlur, Inc. at 835 Cole St Apt 1, San Francisco, California 94117, United States. · play.google.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Mobile apps
- NewsBlur offers native iOS and Android apps, with offline reading noted for iOS. · newsblur.com, 10 Oct 2026
- Notifications
- Premium users can receive browser, email, iOS or Android notifications filtered by their training. · newsblur.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Open-source licence
- The public NewsBlur repository and licence file identify the software as MIT licensed. · github.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Praise: feature depth
- PCWorld described the reader as responsive, sophisticated, ad-free and strong for managing large subscription collections. · pcworld.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Praise: filtering and open source
- Zapier praised NewsBlur's open-source self-hosting and said its automatic filtering was surprisingly effective. · zapier.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Praise: usability and value
- Trustpilot reviewers described easy setup, fast feed loading, helpful developer support and good pricing for heavy RSS use. · trustpilot.com, 15 Oct 2026
Where NewsBlur stands on Freedom251
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