NetNewsWire vs Kindle
Which is better in 2026? Five scores, side by side.
NetNewsWire is the better app overall, scoring 9.1 to 8.3. NetNewsWire wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Kindle on 1.
Apple users who want to follow blogs and news sites without an algorithm
Readers who already buy ebooks from Amazon or own a Kindle
Score by score
The details
| Feature | NetNewsWire | Kindle |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reading & News | Reading & News |
| Category rank | #2 of 7 | #6 of 7 |
| Developer | Brent Simmons | Amazon |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | — | ✓ |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | — | ✓ |
| Web | — | ✓ |
Common questions
Is NetNewsWire better than Kindle?
NetNewsWire is the better app overall, scoring 9.1 to 8.3. NetNewsWire wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Kindle on 1.
Which is cheaper, NetNewsWire or Kindle?
NetNewsWire: Completely free, with no in-app purchases. Kindle: Free app; you buy books one at a time, and Kindle Unlimited is optional. On value for money, NetNewsWire scores higher.
Do NetNewsWire and Kindle work on the same devices?
Only Kindle runs on Android, Windows, Web.
Which is more private, NetNewsWire or Kindle?
NetNewsWire scores higher on privacy (9.8/10). App Store label: no tracking and no data linked to you, only a user ID not tied to your identity. Crash logs are opt-in, and the website uses no cookies or trackers.
Strengths and weaknesses
NetNewsWire
- Free, open source and ad-free
- Collects almost no data about you
- Fast native apps for Mac, iPhone and iPad
- No Android, Windows or web version
- Reader view isn't guaranteed to work on every site
- Long backlog of requested features
NetNewsWire is an RSS reader that does one job very well: it shows you new posts from the sites you choose, in order, with nothing pushed by an algorithm. It's native on Mac, iPhone and iPad, and syncs through iCloud, Feedbin, Feedly, Inoreader and others. It's free and open source, with no ads and no tracking. The catch: it's Apple-only, and its feature set stays deliberately simple.
Full NetNewsWire review
Kindle
- Huge store with over six million titles
- Syncs your place, highlights and notes
- Free to read on almost any device
- Can't buy books inside the iPhone app
- Books are locked to Amazon's ecosystem
- Ties lots of data to you, including for marketing
If you buy ebooks from Amazon, the Kindle app is how you read them anywhere. It syncs your place, highlights and notes across phone, tablet, computer and the web, and adds X-Ray, dictionary and Wikipedia lookups, translation, real page numbers and a switch to the Audible version if you own both. The store has over six million titles. The trade-offs are Amazon's lock-in and a privacy label that ties a lot of data to you.
Full Kindle review
