Feedly Reader For Mac

We're all seriously bummed about Google Reader shutting down, but it's not the end of the world, and there are a number of great news reading apps and services out there stepping up to replace it with syncing features and easy import tools to keep you organized. This week we're going to look at five of the best, based on your nominations.

Feedly App For Mac
Feedly Client Mac

Google Reader Is Shutting Down; Here Are the Best Alternatives

Download Feedly – Smart News Reader for MAC computers (PC) and laptops like Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, iMac Pro, Mac Mini, OS X, and MacOS High Sierra for free. Feedly is a smart reader that connects you to the information you need to stay ahead of the curve in your space. Download Feedly – Smart News Reader for MAC computers (PC) and laptops like Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, iMac Pro, Mac Mini, OS X, and MacOS High Sierra for free. Feedly is a smart reader that connects you to the information you need to stay ahead of the curve in your space.

Google is closing Google Reader's doors on July 1st, meaning you'll need to find a new…

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Earlier in the week, we asked you which service you thought was the best replacement for Google Reader, taking into account that the service you nominated needed to be as close to Google Reader's feature set (syncing, multi-platform, web-accessible) as possible. You weighed in with tons of nominations—far more great alternatives than we could possibly feature here. Still, some stood out above the others and picked up more nominations. Let's take a look.

Best Google Reader Alternative?

By now you've heard the news that Google will shut down on July first. We've shared a few …

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The Old Reader

The Old Reader may be in beta, but it was built to be a suitable replacement for Google Reader. And not just Google Reader as we know it now, the old Google Reader, that still had plenty of tools for sharing and organization. You can log in via Google or Facebook, and import your feeds from Google Reader or any other service via OPML. If the interface looks familiar, it should: it looks a lot like Google Reader, complete with folders down the left side, your list of stories in the main pane (click any to read), and one-click subscription to new feeds. You get many of the same keyboard shortcuts, and even get the same ability to follow other Old Reader users and share interesting stories with them—the way you used to be able to with Google Reader. The Old Reader is fast, free, and super simple to use. There are no mobile apps yet, but the web site works well on mobile devices, and the developers behind it note they're working on it. There are, however, Chrome and Safari extensions for it.

NewsBlur

NewsBlur was one of the first services people suggested when the Google Reader announcement came down. NewsBlur has a really well built interface that's also similar to Google Reader, but with some useful bells and whistles that make reading a bit more fun or easy on the eyes. For example, you can toggle the original view and display articles the way they show up on their respective sites, or read them the way they're presented in their RSS feeds, or view them text-only to get rid of the images and the page fluff. You can share stories with friends, save them for future reading, star them, start your own 'blurblog' of featured stories you want to share, and more. If you like to keep up with news on the go, NewsBlur's iPhone, iPad, and Android apps will bring you the latest stories anywhere you are. Free accounts are capped at 64 blogs, 10 stories at a time, and public sharing options. Premium users ($24/yr) can subscribe to as many sites as they want, get all the latest stories at one time, get faster site refreshes, can share publicly or privately, and of course support the service. Sadly, if you don't already have a free account, you can't get one right now—due to high demand, they've temporarily stopped free users from signing up. Keep an eye out though, I'm sure they'll drop this restriction once demand dies down.

Feedly

Feedly was one of your top choices in the Call for Contenders thread, and many of you used Feedly long before Google announced it was shuttering Reader. Feedly has long been one of your favorite RSS news readers and news aggregators. We've mentioned themseveral times as the service has grown and updated. In addition to having a rich news suggestion algorithm that makes it easy to surface articles that you'll find interesting, it's a rich social tool that lets you share stories with your friends and post them to your favorite social networks. Saving stories for future reading is easy, and Feedly offers layout choices that let you read the news in the manner you choose—whether it's straight headlines from top to bottom, full articles, neatly arranged tiles, or pretty images all laid out on a page. Best of all, Feedly has said that while right now they connect to Google Reader and sync with it, they're building a new syncing engine so Feedly users can seamlessly continue using the service long after Google Reader turns off the lights. Stay tuned for that. Feedly is less webapp as it is browser extension and mobile app: there are add-ons for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, and mobile apps for iOS and Android.

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Five Best RSS Newsreaders

Google's changes to Google Reader this week upset a lot of people, and it got us wondering how …

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NetVibes

Netvibes is actually a social aggregation and dashboarding service, but that doesn't stop it from being a robust RSS news reader. Basic accounts at Netvibes are free (note that Premium and Pro accounts are available but expensive—you don't need any of the services they offer just to read RSS feeds), and that's all you really need to keep track of your feeds. You can take the suggested feeds they start you off with, or you can import your own via OPML or subscribe to specific blogs by pasting in their URL. Signing up is quick and easy, and once you're set up, you can even use Netvibes as a bit of a dashboard/homepage replacement. Add widgets for weather, finance, and top news stories to your dashboard and you get a pretty useful homepage that also shows you the new stories from your favorite sites. Don't look for mobile apps in this case though—Netvibes doesn't have any. They do have a mobile site designed for smart and dumb phones alike (it auto-detects which one you're using and sends you to the right place.) It'll let you read the news, but it won't let you edit anything.

Pulse

Pulse is only partially a syncing RSS reader—it relies heavily on its own news filtering algorithms to help you find the stories that they think you'll enjoy. You can use it as a way to just keep up on all the latest stories from the blogs you like to read, but when you nominated it as one of your favorite news aggregators, it was because it was great at lifting the interesting stories to the top. It departs from the traditional news reader UI for a more visual, tiled approach (similar to one of the views you can see in Feedly.) That said, Pulse does let you import your Google Reader feeds (via mobile-you can't do it on the web), and since they operate their own service, they'll handle the syncing and management for you—no external service required. Pulse offers a webapp and mobile apps for iOS and Android phones and tablets. You can easily save stories for later, share with friends, or just browse some of the more popular and trending stories, filter by category, and pick up where you left off on a new device without losing your place.

There you have it, your five favorite Google Reader alternatives. Now it's time to decide the all-out winner.

What's The Best Google Reader Alternative?

Honorable mentions this week go out to TinyTinyRSS, a self-hosted RSS reading app that allows you to grab your feeds on any system, as long as you have a web host and you're comfortable installing and setting it up. The process actually isn't that difficult, and full disclosure, I'm thinking about doing this myself. Since there's a Tiny Tiny RSS Android client to go with it, it's worth a look. Plus, it's free and open source, and at the end of the day you own your feeds and your data, and it won't shut down on you.

We should also make full mention of the fact that Google Reader isn't going anywhere just yet! There are more petitions floating around to keep it alive than we can count, and (even if you believe in the efficacy of online petitions) it's worth keeping in mind that the RSS reader market is going to change a lot between now and July 1st, when Google Reader finally sunsets. Most popular apps will roll their own syncing agent and try to stay alive. Stay tuned, and watch to see if your favorite is planning something big. Reeder, our favorite news reader for Mac and iPhone/iPad, has already said they're working on something. Sadly, FeedDemon, our favorite for Windows, says the end of Google Reader is the end for them too.

The Best News Reader for Mac

Reading a lot of blogs can be tough to manage without an RSS news reader, which consolidates…

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You guys nominated far more than we could possibly feature, so we'd love to hear more of your favorites in the discussions. Let us know which one you plan to use, or which company is prepping something interesting (maybe it's Digg's plans for a syncing news reader?) that you want to know more about. Remember, the top five are based on your most popular nominations from the call for contenders thread from earlier in the week. Don't just complain about the top five, let us know what your preferred alternative is—and make your case for it—in the discussions below.

Remains of the Day: Digg Wants to Build the Next Google Reader

Digg feels your Google Reader pain, YouTube Capture comes to iPad, Google Reader has already…

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The Hive Five is based on reader nominations. As with most Hive Five posts, if your favorite was left out, it's not because we hate it—it's because it didn't get the nominations required in the call for contenders post to make the top five. We understand it's a bit of a popularity contest, but if you have a favorite, we want to hear about it. Have a suggestion for the Hive Five? Send us an email at tips+hivefive@lifehacker.com!

We’ve told you about the main web-based alternatives to Google’s beloved but departed RSS service, which defined the RSS reading genre so well most competitors stopped bothering to compete. Feedly is probably the most feature filledFeedly, Reviewed: What Makes It Such A Popular Google Reader Replacement?Feedly, Reviewed: What Makes It Such A Popular Google Reader Replacement?Now that Google Reader is but a distant memory, the fight for the future of RSS is truly on. One of the most notable products fighting the good fight is Feedly. Google Reader wasn't an...Read More, Newsblur is easy to useNewsblur: A Friendly & Feature Rich Online Feed Reader SoftwareNewsblur: A Friendly & Feature Rich Online Feed Reader SoftwareRead More and Feedbin, while not free, is worth the $2 a monthFeedbin: A Google Reader Replacement That May Be Worth $2 Per MonthFeedbin: A Google Reader Replacement That May Be Worth $2 Per MonthGoogle Reader is sun-setting and shutting down on July 1st. Like most Google services, it was free – and in a world where many Web services are free, it's easy to forget that developers need...Read More.

But what about desktop apps? The Mac has long been home to some of the best desktop RSS apps out there, but many depended on Google Reader for syncing and basic functionality. What are the best alternatives to the now-broken clients like Reeder? Here are the best I’ve found.

ReadKit ($6.99)

Originally built to sync with read later services like Instapaper and Pocket, ReadKit is probably the best RSS app for Mac out there right now. Why? It syncs with Feedly, Newsblur, Feedbin and more – meaning you can use ReadKit on your Mac and keep reading on your portable device without any hiccups.

But there’s more here than just syncing: this app makes sharing with other apps easy and includes all the keyboard shortcuts you’d expect a modern reader app to include. It even offers Readability, allowing you to pull in full-text versions of articles in one keystroke.

Sure, it’s design is a not-so-subtle nod to Reeder, but that app’s Mac reincarnation is still forthcoming. And even when Reeder does come out, it will be hard for even that app to match the balance of features and simplicity ReadKit’s put together. It combines all of your online reading in one place. Read more about ReadKitIs ReadKit The Perfect Reeder Replacement For Mac? (Yes)Is ReadKit The Perfect Reeder Replacement For Mac? (Yes)Still looking for the perfect Mac RSS reader? It's here.Read More.

NewsNetWire ($10 pre-release, $20 thereafter)

Launched in 2002, NewsNetWire is the oldest RSS reader out there for Mac – and among the longest-developed programs on the platform. And now it’s experiencing a rebirth of sorts, with the fourth version expected soon.

You’ll immediately notice the app fits right in on modern Macs, with an interface that resembles a mail client. Browsing articles with the arrow key and space bar is easy, and a tabbed interface allows you to allow full versions of articles to load in the background.

NewsNetWire 4 is, as of this writing, in development. They’re currently offering a $10 pre-order with beta access, but the program will eventually cost $20.

Vienna (Free)

The free and open source alternative Vienna is a solid RSS reader that won’t cost you anything. The interface is simple, and browsing your feeds is easy. It also includes built-in sharing with Buffer.

Vienna supports Open Reader, an open source API web-based RSS services can use to provide syncing services. Major services like Feedly haven’t implemented this standard yet, however, so you’ll be limited to two relatively obscure services:

If you’d rather not pay for a desktop RSS reader, Vienna is well worth checking out – and it offers more syncing options than NetNewsWire. Read more about ViennaVienna: A RSS Feed Reader With Integrated Sharing [Mac]Vienna: A RSS Feed Reader With Integrated Sharing [Mac]Read More, if you’re interested.

Menu Bar Options

Not sure you want a full-blown RSS reader for your desktop? There are menu bar options, like Feeds (free):

Simon outlined 3 menu bar apps for staying on top of your RSS feeds3 Great Menu Bar Apps to Stay on Top of Your RSS Feeds [Mac]3 Great Menu Bar Apps to Stay on Top of Your RSS Feeds [Mac]For me, RSS feeds are the ideal way to keep up to date with all the websites I'm interested in - a centralised news-pool, so you don't have to check your browser every five minutes...Read More. Check that list out if you’re interested.

There’s More…

Of course, it’s impossible to write about Mac RSS apps without discussing Reeder. This was long the clear leader for Mac RSS apps, but relied on Google Reader for pretty much everything. Updates capable of syncing with Feedly and more have been issued for the iPhone and iPad, but the Mac version remains broken. Stay tuned, though, because if the previous version is anything to go by it will be fast and feature filled.

And there are other apps worth checking out. Leaf is an attractive app that leaves some advanced features out in favor of simplicity, and is getting a lot of really great reviews.It doesn’t sync with anything post-Reader, but might be perfect for someone seeking a simple alternative that looks great.

Feedly App For Mac

I couldn’t possibly outline every RSS reader for Mac here, so I need your help: which awesome apps did I miss? Fill me in below, okay?

Feedly Client Mac

My main problem with NetNewsWire is that it won't allow you to comment on Google blogs from within the program. Commenting works for ALL other services.
What about Caffeinated? Tis a winner.
The correct name of the app is actually NetNewsWire, not NewsNetWire
I will use ReadKit when they will include the sync option with Theoldreader.
I hope Feedly has a desktop version.
- It does.
I've been using Vienna ever since I switched to the Mac. I loved it then as I do now. Back then it didn't have the syncing, so now I'm left with trying to find a suitable iOS app to fully utilize that feature. I would love to find one that operates more like Vienna, but most want to aggregate feeds together into one long view.
They all look the same.