Quick Overview

What is RSS?

Many websites offer RSS technology, making it possible to subscribe to content (especially articles) on an RSS feed and thus to stay up to date. You will recognize that a website offers RSS by the typical icon .

What is an RSS feed?

The so-called RSS feed includes the latest content such as default articles of a web page. The feed is based on the XML format, allowing for a platform-independent representation in RSS readers.

How do you subscribe to an RSS feed?

To subscribe to an RSS feed, you can use numerous RSS readers. Because of the XML format RSS can be used independently of the platform on all operating systems and mobile devices.

Recommended RSS Readers

The following RSS readers reflect our recommendations based on experiences, user opinions and votes.

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Functionality

Principle

Once a website releases a new article on the internet, it is possible for you to read this directly to your computer or smartphone via a newsreader. Many of the larger portals offer one or more RSS feeds so that you can choose yourself what messages you want to be notified about immediately upon publication.

The RSS technology has therefore set itself the goal of keeping interested users informed via RSS feeds. For this purpose, the so-called RSS feed is converted into a readable text, which is displayed in a graphically appealing way using an RSS reader. The main benefit of RSS is that you can see the latest articles available at a single glance. So it is no longer necessary to search through various categories of a website in order to find interesting articles.

Advantages of an RSS Feed

When you visit a major news portal you will find many hidden articles in categories. This does not contribute to clarity of presentation, especially since you are not able to locate all relevant and interesting articles.

The RSS feed provides you with numerous advantages in this regard.

Clarity of presentation

RSS feeds provide an overview of only the latest articles. As such, you will not be overwhelmed by representations of navigations, visualizations, and other distracting elements. Instead, an RSS feed that is optically processed via a newsreader will present you with a complete listing of interesting articles. At a single glance, you can see all article headlines as well teasers in some cases, which helps you choose articles that are appealing to you.

1. Overview of the latest articles at a single glance
2. A better and simpler way of choosing articles that actually are of interest to you
3. No disruptive or distracting elements

Simplicity

Subscribing to an RSS feed is made very easy by the ingenious RSS-technology. Many news portals offer a large selection of RSS feeds that will always notify you about the latest articles on a particular topic. Of course, collected RSS feeds are also made available to you, so you will be informed immediately upon the publication of any new content through your RSS reader. The simplicity of RSS also manifests itself in that you can open new articles very easily via your RSS reader without having to open a new web page.

1. Easy selection of available RSS feeds for a website
2. Regular updates of news in RSS feed

Customizable setting options

There are a number of free and fee-based RSS readers available on the market, both web-based browser, which can both be used on a web basis or installed as software on a computer or other mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets. Most RSS readers offer their users many customizable setting options. You can alter the display mode in order to optimize the overview of new articles according to your preferences. Similarly, you can hide less important details such as the name of the author of the advertisement to thus concentrate on the essentials.

1. Creation of an individual summary of your news
2. Easy to hide less important information for greater clarity

Time savings

Another big advantage of an RSS feed of course is that you can have simultaneous access to all new articles of various subscription websites with just one program. It is therefore not required that you visit each website you have subscribed to individually and first sift through the categories for interesting articles. Instead. you are offered a complete overview of all new articles, so all you have to do is decide on the relevant content. Especially on the road, this means big time savings.

1. All articles accessible from one central location
2. Less time through simplifying the article selection

Compatibility

RSS feeds are stored in the platform-independent XML format. This has the great advantage that you can use RSS feeds on both your computer, your smartphone or tablet. Almost all RSS readers offer the option of saving your subscribed RSS feeds in a list. This list can be used to add your subscribed RSS feeds to another RSS reader. This allows you to access information on all RSS readers using the same website and following their articles.

1. RSS feeds available from any platform
2. Synchronization of all subscribed websites for various RSS readers

Freedom from advertisements

Articles are mostly stored ad-free in the RSS feeds. So you can fully concentrate only on the content and do not have to worry about annoying ad banners or pop-ups.

1. No annoying banner ads in articles
2. Main focus is on the article

RSS Reader Recommendations

At this point, we would like to recommend what we think are the most recommended RSS readers. Our recommendations are based on experience, the opinions of our volunteer editors as well as on opinions and votes from our users.

In our opinion, Feedreader is especially recommended. This free RSS reader can be used for all computers from Windows 2000 onwards and offers you maximum flexibility in managing subscribed websites using an RSS feed.

Feedreader at a glance

Feedreader offers users a very simple user interface, so you can concentrate on the essentials. To use this free software, no technical knowledge is required: If you want to subscribe to a web page, simply type its URL into the appropriate form. Feedreader will immediately look for available RSS feeds and subscribe to them for you. From now on, you will be informed about updates and new releases. You may choose the time period for this. Installing the software only takes a few moments. First, however, you must download the installer file, which is only 4 megabytes big. Particularly noteworthy is the optical adaptability. With only one click, you can customize the view to your individual needs.

1. Easy handling thanks to very understandable user interface
2. Rapid subscription to an RSS feed
3. Various settings with clear explanations
4. Easy installation and setup in no time

Most users of a system based on Mac OS X will use the standard solution Apple Mail for their e-mail messages without knowing that this mostly pre-installed app has a very clearly laid out RSS reader.

Apple Mail at a glance

The versatile app from Apple is can be used not only as an e-mail program. It is also possible to subscribe to RSS feeds of various websites, to display them clearly, and to thus always stay up-to-date. Apple Mail will allow you to categorize your RSS feeds very clearly. It is also possible to add different functions to RSS feeds. For certain RSS feeds, for example, you can choose settings will ensure that the newly published articles will be displayed in your inbox along with all incoming e-mails. The practical connection with the Apple Safari browser also makes it very simple to add new RSS feeds to your RSS reader. Although Apple Mail does not offer extensive configuration options for RSS in terms of in terms of representation, the program is extremely easy to use and its design is incredibly clear.

1. App pre-installed on the latest Mac products
2. Numerous features for you to subscribe to an RSS feed
3. Easy to use and manage subscribed RSS feeds

For many years, the free Liferea has been the most popular RSS reader for Linux users. While there are some other RSS readers for the Linux operating system, none are as easy and comfortable to use as Liferea.

Liferea at a glance

Liferea is characterized by a set of particularly impressive features. Thus, for example, it easily possible to download an RSS feed article when you are connected to the internet and then be able to also use it when you are offline. Liferea also offers automatic synchronization with Google Reader. This allows you to use your subscriptions to sites through Google Reader with the Liferea RSS reader.

1. Offline reading possible
2. Automatic synchronization with Google Reader
3. Easy to handle RSS reader

Anyone that wants to get his RSS feeds at all times and everywhere will want to rely on a web-based solution. Google Reader is recommended as a very functional RSS reader. A particularly interesting feature is the option to create your own RSS feeds for other users: You gather articles from your favorite sources and can therefore recommend interest and highly recommended news sources with other users.

Google Reader at a glance

Google Reader has several features, which include the frequently OPML that is used to import and export subscribed RSS feeds. In addition to numerous view and display options that are customizable, the RSS reader from Google offers many ways of sharing interesting articles and resources with others. For example, you can refer to particularly useful sources via e-mail.

1. RSS feeds at all times and everywhere
2. Share your favorite sources and receive recommended articles
3. Numerous view and display options

The Feeddler RSS reader that was designed for iOS devices such as iPhone and iPad is available for free through the App Store. Although this program is available free of charge, you must make friends with a few annoying banner ads at the bottom. Anyone that wants to free himself from these commercials, can buy the Pro version Feeddler. This, however, is not necessary.

Feeddler at a glance

Feeddler is probably the most popular RSS reader for the iPhone and iPad. This may be mainly due to the very clearly laid out user interface and the ease of use, but also due to its ability to read articles offline. At first glance, the many functions of the Feeddler might seem overwhelming; upon closer inspection, however, the simplicity of the app will become apparent. In our opinion, the Feeddler RSS reader is a very versatile app, which is especially suitable for demanding users.

1. Clear user interface
2. Reading articles offline possible
3. Several useful features to individualize the app

As with the web-based Google Reader, the Android version offers a number of functions that are not only focused on the pure reading of an RSS feed, but also provide the option of sharing with others.

Google Reader at a glance

The search engine Google has launched its own RSS reader on the market, offering Android users the ability to get recent articles from a subscription website on the road with a smartphone. Among the most characteristic features are the sharing in social networks and commenting or save your notes function. In itself, the Android version of Google Reader differs from web-based RSS readers only in the visual adaptation to the much smaller smartphone screen.

1. Sharing and commenting articles
2. Optimized display of RSS feeds for small mobile screens
3. Access subscribed RSS feeds on the road

The free Viigo RSS reader for BlackBerry is much more than an application that allows articles to be views in an RSS feed. Viigo provides the latest news as well as the current weather and sporting events. After you set up once what you would like to be informed about, Viigo will summarize all the relevant information for you.

Viigo for BlackBerry at a glance

The Viigo application for Blackberry is a very comprehensive software that is not just an ordinary RSS feed so you can stay up-to-date, but you can also receive regular updates on the weather, your past purchases, the latest sporting events, TV shows and many more events. With a few clicks, you can decide what you Viigo should notify you of.

1. Several useful features next to RSS feeds
2. Completely customizable
3. Easy to use and configure