Fluent Reader vs FocusReader
Fluent Reader
hyliu.meFocusReader
focusreader.appSide by side
| Figure | Fluent Reader | FocusReader |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · RSS Reader Software | 8.8 (#5) | 7.5 (#22) |
| Privacy | The maker says the app does not collect, store, or share personal information; third-party or self-hosted RSS services may see activity through their API. | The privacy policy says settings and reading-list data stay on the device, while anonymous usage events, website domains and extension details are collected through PostHog; analytics can be disabled. |
| Purpose | Fluent Reader is a local, cross-platform news aggregator and desktop RSS reader. | Focus Reader turns web articles into a clean, distraction-free reading view. |
| Support | The project directs users to report bugs or request features through GitHub issues. | General support is available at [email protected]. |
Plans
In their own words
Fluent Reader
Fluent Reader is a free, open-source news aggregator and RSS reader for desktop, built for local, distraction-free reading. Its built-in article view handles RSS full text and can use Mercury Parser to load full text; webpages can also open inside the app or externally. Search spans titles and article contents, with regular expressions available for searches and rules that can mark, hide, or star articles. Subscriptions can be grouped, imported or exported as OPML, and included in backups. Desktop versions are distributed for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It supports Inoreader, Feedbin, and services compatible with Fever or Google Reader API, alongside listed compatibility with services such as FreshRSS, Miniflux, The Old Reader, BazQux Reader, and Tiny Tiny RSS. Fluent Reader Lite offers iOS TestFlight access and Android APK downloads. The project says it does not collect, store, or share personal information. However, a connected RSS service may see activity through its API, and connecting one removes local articles with matching source URLs while retaining rules and preferences.
FocusReader
FocusReader has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.