NetNewsWire
The free, open-source, platform-native RSS reader for Mac and iOS.
About
NetNewsWire is the original Mac RSS reader, created by Brent Simmons in 2002 and one of the longest-running Mac apps in continuous development. The story is unusually good: Simmons sold it to Black Pixel in 2011, got it back in 2018, open-sourced it under the MIT license, and has shipped it as a free, volunteer-maintained app ever since — version 7 for Mac landed in January 2026 with the macOS 26 Liquid Glass design. It is deliberately a client, not a service: add feeds directly and sync over iCloud, or plug in a hosted account — Feedbin, Feedly, BazQux, Inoreader, NewsBlur, The Old Reader, or FreshRSS — and NetNewsWire becomes their native front end. It also speaks JSON Feed, a format Simmons co-authored.
The app's reputation rests on craft: fast, stable, accessible, with a reader view, custom article themes, smart feeds (All Unread, Today, starred), folders, OPML import/export, background refresh, full search, keyboard shortcuts, share extensions, and home-screen widgets. There is no account, no tracking, and no cost. Honest tradeoffs: Mac and iOS only — there is no Android or Windows version — it needs a hosted account for server-side fetching (direct feeds only refresh while your device is on), and as a volunteer project it ships features at a steadier, slower pace than venture-backed readers.
What it can do
- Free, open-source (MIT) native apps for macOS and iOS/iPadOS
- Direct feed downloading or iCloud sync with no account required
- Hosted-account mode: Feedbin, Feedly, BazQux, Inoreader, NewsBlur, The Old Reader, FreshRSS
- RSS, Atom, and JSON Feed support
- Reader view, custom article themes, smart feeds (Today, All Unread, Starred)
- Folders, starred articles, OPML import/export
- Background refreshing, full search, keyboard shortcuts
- Share sheet, share extension, home-screen widgets
- No tracking, no ads, no account
Setup
Download free from netnewswire.com (Mac) or the App Store (iOS/iPadOS). Add feeds directly and sync via iCloud for a no-account setup, or add a hosted account (Feedbin, Feedly, Inoreader, NewsBlur, The Old Reader, FreshRSS, BazQux) and let NetNewsWire act as its native client. Import existing subscriptions via OPML. Customize the article theme and smart feeds under Settings.
Prerequisites
A Mac, iPhone, or iPad; optionally an account with a hosted RSS service for server-side sync.
Use cases
Works with
Trust score — 9/10
Scored 9/10 (verified tier, metrics-v1). Evidence: running since 2002 with Wikipedia-documented history (Black Pixel acquisition 2011, IP returned 2018, open-sourced, v7 Jan 2026); MIT-licensed on GitHub with 10,465 stars and commits pushed October 15, 2026; sync with seven hosted services independently corroborated. Strengths: the gold-standard native Apple RSS client, zero tracking, healthy volunteer maintenance. Docked for: (1) Apple platforms only; (2) no server-side fetching without a hosted account; (3) volunteer pace on new features. License: MIT.
★ 10,465 GitHub stars
How the trust score is built
Full methodology →- Adoption · stars/downloads, log-scaled vs peers
- 9.0/10
- Maintenance · recency, releases, issue load
- 9.0/10
- Openness · license + docs
- 10.0/10
- Manual review · sanity read + red-flag check
- 9.0/10
- · 10,465 GitHub stars (Oct 16, 2026 snapshot), commits pushed Oct 15, 2026; MIT; by Brent Simmons (Ranchero Software), running since 2002
- · Free native macOS/iOS client; syncs via iCloud or hosted accounts (Feedbin, Feedly, BazQux, Inoreader, NewsBlur, The Old Reader, FreshRSS); JSON Feed support
- · Apple platforms only; needs a hosted account for server-side fetching; volunteer pace on new features
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these sources. Where a claim comes from the provider and couldn't be independently verified, the text says so.