# Monfil compared with 15 other feed readers

Monfil is a free desktop feed reader for macOS, Windows and Linux. It has no account, no source limit and no algorithm, and your data stays on your computer. Prices and limits were checked on 2 November 2026.

## Pick another reader if you need

- There is no mobile app and no web app. Monfil runs on macOS, Windows and Linux.
- There is no sync between devices. Your data stays on one computer, and you move it with an OPML file.
- There are no AI summaries, translations or digests.
- There is no email address for newsletters. Follow a Substack by its link, or the web version of a newsletter if it has a feed.
- There is no sharing or social layer.

## Comparison

| Reader | Kind | Runs on | Free plan | Paid plan | Account | Your data | How items are sorted |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monfil | Desktop app | macOS, Windows, Linux | Free, no feed limit | None | No | Your computer | Newest first |
| [Feedly](https://feedly.com) | Web service | Web, iOS, Android | Up to 100 sources | Pro from $6 a month, billed yearly | Yes | Feedly’s servers | Newest first, AI Feeds on Pro+ |
| [Inoreader](https://www.inoreader.com) | Web service | Web, iOS, Android | Up to 150 feeds, with ads | Pro from €6.67 a month, billed yearly | Yes | Inoreader’s servers | Newest first, with rules and AI summaries |
| [NewsBlur](https://www.newsblur.com) | Web service, open source | Web, iOS, Android, macOS | Up to 64 sites | Premium $36 a year | Yes, or host it yourself | NewsBlur’s servers, or yours | A trainer hides or highlights stories |
| [Feedbin](https://feedbin.com) | Web service | Web, and apps that sync with it | No free plan, 30-day trial | $7 a month or $70 a year | Yes | Feedbin’s servers | Newest first |
| [Readwise Reader](https://readwise.io/read) | Read-it-later service | Web, iOS, Android, desktop | No free plan, 30-day trial | $9.99 a month, billed yearly | Yes | Readwise’s servers | Your saved queue, with a feed tab |
| [Folo](https://folo.is) | AI reader, open source | Web, desktop, mobile | Up to 150 feeds, 3 AI summaries a day | Basic $49.99 a year | Yes | Folo’s servers | Timeline with AI summaries and digests |
| [FeedNest](https://www.feednest.com) | AI reader | Web and apps | Up to 150 feeds | Plus $5.99 a month | Yes | FeedNest’s servers | AI curation, summaries and tags |
| [daily.dev](https://daily.dev) | Developer news feed | Browser extension, web, iOS, Android | Free | Plus $9.99 a month | For most features | daily.dev’s servers | Personalized feed and community votes |
| [Mailbrew](https://mailbrew.com) | Email digest | Web, email | Free plan with limits | Paid plan for more digests | Yes | Mailbrew’s servers | One email on your schedule |
| [Miniflux and NextFlux](https://miniflux.app) | Self-hosted, open source | Web, installable web app | Free to host yourself | Hosted Miniflux $15 a year | On your server | Your server | Newest first |
| [FreshRSS](https://freshrss.org) | Self-hosted, open source | Web, and apps that sync with it | Free to host yourself | None | On your server | Your server | Newest first, with extensions |
| [NetNewsWire](https://netnewswire.com) | Apple app, open source | macOS, iOS, iPadOS | Free (MIT) | None | No, sync is optional | Your devices, or your sync service | Newest first |
| [Reeder](https://reederapp.com) | Apple app | macOS, iOS, iPadOS | Limited free tier | $14.99 a year | Apple account for iCloud sync | Your devices and iCloud | One timeline |
| [Fluent Reader](https://github.com/yang991178/fluent-reader) | Desktop app, open source | Windows, macOS, Linux | Free | None | No | Your computer | Newest first, with rules |
| [RSS Guard](https://github.com/martinrotter/rssguard) | Desktop app, open source | Windows, macOS, Linux | Free (GPL-3.0) | None | No | Your computer | Newest first, with filters |

## Hosted feed readers

These readers keep your subscriptions on their servers, so you sign in and read on any device.

### Monfil vs Feedly

Feedly is the best-known web feed reader. The same company also sells threat intelligence and market intelligence products to teams.

- Pick Feedly if: You read on your phone as much as on your computer, or your team needs shared boards and AI feeds.
- Pick Monfil if: You read at a computer and do not want an account or a source limit. Monfil also finds the feed for a GitHub repository, an arXiv category or a company job board when you paste its link.

### Monfil vs Inoreader

Inoreader is a web reader for heavy users. It follows feeds, newsletters, web pages without a feed, Bluesky, Telegram and Google News, and adds rules, filters and AI summaries.

- Pick Inoreader if: You want automation rules, web page monitoring and newsletters by email, with the same account on your phone.
- Pick Monfil if: You want no account and no ads, and you want release notes, arXiv papers, Hacker News and job boards in the same river as your blogs.

### Monfil vs NewsBlur

NewsBlur is a web reader made by one independent developer, Samuel Clay. Its trainer learns which authors, tags and titles you like, and the code is open source under the MIT license.

- Pick NewsBlur if: You want a trainer that hides the stories you do not like, a social layer to share stories, or a reader you can host yourself.
- Pick Monfil if: You want every item in date order with nothing hidden, more than 64 sources for free, and no account.

### Monfil vs Feedbin

Feedbin is a paid, ad-free web reader that also receives email newsletters. Many third-party apps, such as NetNewsWire and Reeder, sync with it.

- Pick Feedbin if: You are happy to pay for a calm hosted reader, and you want newsletters and feeds together on all your devices.
- Pick Monfil if: You want a free reader with no account, and sources such as GitHub releases, arXiv and job boards found from a pasted link.

### Monfil vs Readwise Reader

Readwise Reader is a read-it-later app that also reads feeds. It is strong on highlights, notes and PDFs, and it comes only with the full Readwise plan.

- Pick Readwise Reader if: You save long articles, PDFs and books to read later, and you want to keep and review your highlights.
- Pick Monfil if: You want to see what is new in your field every day, for free, more than you want to build a reading library.

## AI feed readers

These readers use AI to summarize, translate or pick what you read. They run in the cloud and limit AI use by plan.

### Monfil vs Folo

Folo, once called Follow, is an AI feed reader under the GPL-3.0 license. It uses RSSHub to follow social networks and video sites, and its AI summarizes, translates and sends digests of your timeline.

- Pick Folo if: You want AI to summarize and translate your timeline, or you follow sources that only RSSHub reaches, such as X, Weibo or bilibili.
- Pick Monfil if: You want to read the items yourself, in date order, with no daily limits and no account. Your list of sources stays on your computer.

### Monfil vs FeedNest

FeedNest is a hosted reader with an AI news analyst. It follows feeds, YouTube, podcasts and newsletters, and it can build a feed from a description of your interests.

- Pick FeedNest if: You want AI to pick and summarize news for you, or to read your feeds from Claude or ChatGPT.
- Pick Monfil if: You want to pick every source yourself and see every item. Nothing in Monfil ranks your items, and your data stays on your computer.

## Curated feeds and digests

These products bring you news in another shape: a community feed or an email.

### Monfil vs daily.dev

daily.dev is a developer community. Its feed comes from thousands of sources that its editors approve, and it opens in your browser’s new tab.

- Pick daily.dev if: You want popular developer articles with votes and comments from other developers, and you do not need to pick each source.
- Pick Monfil if: You want your own sources. In daily.dev you cannot add a feed of your own, only suggest a source for review. In Monfil you paste any link, and nothing is ranked by popularity.

### Monfil vs Mailbrew

Mailbrew sends a daily or weekly email that collects your sources, such as feeds, newsletters and websites.

- Pick Mailbrew if: You want your sources as one email at a fixed time, and you do not want another app.
- Pick Monfil if: You want to see new items when they arrive, search across all of them, and keep track of what you read.

## Self-hosted readers

You run these readers on your own server. You own your data, and you also maintain the server.

### Monfil vs Miniflux and NextFlux

Miniflux is a small, fast reader that you run on your own server. NextFlux is a modern web front end for Miniflux, which you deploy with Docker or Cloudflare Pages.

- Pick Miniflux and NextFlux if: You run a server and want the same feeds in a browser on every device.
- Pick Monfil if: You want the same privacy with no server to run. Install Monfil, and your data stays on your computer.

### Monfil vs FreshRSS

FreshRSS is a self-hosted reader for many users, under the AGPL-3.0 license. It has extensions, web scraping, and the Google Reader and Fever APIs for mobile apps.

- Pick FreshRSS if: You want one server for your family or your team, and your choice of mobile app.
- Pick Monfil if: You want to start reading in a minute, with no server, database or updates to manage.

## Desktop and Apple apps

These apps run on your own computer, like Monfil. Most of them read RSS and Atom feeds only.

### Monfil vs NetNewsWire

NetNewsWire is a free, open-source reader for Mac, iPhone and iPad. It syncs through iCloud, Feedbin, Feedly, Inoreader, NewsBlur and FreshRSS.

- Pick NetNewsWire if: You use only Apple devices and want a fast native app that syncs with your phone.
- Pick Monfil if: You also use Windows or Linux, or you want GitHub, arXiv, Hacker News and job board sources found from a pasted link.

### Monfil vs Reeder

Reeder is a polished Apple app that follows feeds, YouTube, podcasts, Mastodon and Bluesky in one timeline, and syncs through iCloud. Reeder Classic still works with hosted readers.

- Pick Reeder if: You use only Apple devices and want one timeline on your Mac and your phone.
- Pick Monfil if: You also use Windows or Linux, or you follow GitHub releases, arXiv, job boards and developer conferences.

### Monfil vs Fluent Reader

Fluent Reader is a free, open-source desktop reader for Windows, macOS and Linux. It reads RSS and can sync with Inoreader, Feedbin, Miniflux and other services through their APIs.

- Pick Fluent Reader if: You want a free desktop RSS reader that syncs with a hosted service you already use.
- Pick Monfil if: You follow more than RSS. Monfil finds the feeds for GitHub and GitLab releases, arXiv, Hacker News, Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube and job boards, and adds workspaces, saved searches and feedpacks.

### Monfil vs RSS Guard

RSS Guard is a free, open-source desktop reader written in C++ with Qt. It reads RSS, Atom and JSON feeds, plays podcasts, and syncs with many online services.

- Pick RSS Guard if: You want a light native app with scripted filters and a podcast player.
- Pick Monfil if: You want curated feedpacks for your field, workspaces and saved searches, and sources such as arXiv categories, Hacker News score levels and company job boards.

[Download Monfil](https://monfil.app/download)