Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

NewsBlur VS AOL Reader

Compare NewsBlur VS AOL Reader and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

NewsBlur logo NewsBlur

NewsBlur is a personal news reader that brings people together to talk about the world.

AOL Reader logo AOL Reader

AOL Reader For iOS. Bring that same RSS reader experience you enjoy using everyday with you. Browse all your favorite websites, switch between different views, and search like you would on your desktop.
  • NewsBlur Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-30
  • AOL Reader Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-13

NewsBlur features and specs

  • Personalized Reading
    NewsBlur allows you to train its system on what stories you like and dislike, providing you with a more personalized news reading experience.
  • Offline Access
    The mobile apps support offline reading, which is useful for users who want to catch up on news without an internet connection.
  • Story Sharing
    It offers social features, enabling users to share interesting stories and comment within their circle or the public.
  • Third-Party Integration
    NewsBlur supports integration with other apps and services via APIs, enhancing its functionality and convenience.
  • Open Source
    The platform is open-source, which can attract developers who want to contribute to its improvement or customize it for their own needs.

Possible disadvantages of NewsBlur

  • Subscription Cost
    While NewsBlur offers a free tier, its advanced features and better performance require a paid subscription, which may not be appealing to everyone.
  • Complex Interface
    The user interface can be overwhelming for new users due to its numerous features and customization options.
  • Learning Curve
    Due to its rich set of features, there can be a steep learning curve for those unfamiliar with RSS readers or similar platforms.
  • Limited Free Account
    Free accounts are limited to a small number of feeds and some features are restricted, pushing users towards the paid tier for a fuller experience.
  • Occasional Performance Issues
    Users have reported occasional performance issues, especially with large numbers of feeds, affecting the overall experience.

AOL Reader features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    AOL Reader features a clean and intuitive interface, making it easy for users to navigate and manage their feeds and subscriptions.
  • Integrations
    Seamless integration with AOL Mail and other AOL services allows users to manage various aspects of their online activity in one place.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    AOL Reader is accessible from multiple devices, including desktops, tablets, and smartphones, providing flexibility for users on the go.
  • Customizable
    Users can personalize their experience by organizing feeds into folders and adjusting the display settings to suit their preferences.

Possible disadvantages of AOL Reader

  • Limited Advanced Features
    AOL Reader may lack some of the advanced features found in other RSS feed readers, such as extensive filtering options or keyword alerts.
  • Dependence on AOL Ecosystem
    While integration with AOL services can be beneficial, it may also limit users who prefer or rely on services from other providers.
  • Market Position
    Given that AOL is not predominantly known for its reader services, the user base may be smaller compared to other specialized RSS readers.
  • Potential for Discontinuation
    AOL has a history of discontinuing smaller services, which could pose a risk for users investing time in setting up and using AOL Reader.

Analysis of NewsBlur

Overall verdict

  • Overall, NewsBlur is considered a good choice for users seeking a flexible and robust RSS reader. It provides a powerful set of features for avid news readers and those who wish to manage a high volume of information feeds efficiently.

Why this product is good

  • NewsBlur is a web-based RSS reader that allows users to follow updates from their favorite websites, blogs, and news sources in one place. It offers features such as real-time updates, a simple and intuitive interface, customizable views, and the ability to train the reader to show more of what you like and less of what you don't. The platform is praised for its speed and reliability, as well as its intelligent mode for filtering content based on user preferences.

Recommended for

    NewsBlur is recommended for tech-savvy users, journalists, bloggers, and information enthusiasts who appreciate having control over their content consumption. It's particularly beneficial to users who prefer a customizable and tailored reading experience and those who are comfortable with spending a little time setting up feeds and filters to suit their specific preferences.

Analysis of AOL Reader

Overall verdict

  • AOL Reader was a reasonable option for users who wanted a simple RSS reader with basic features. However, it has since been discontinued, which means it is no longer a viable choice for anyone seeking an RSS reader today. Alternatives like Feedly, Inoreader, and NewsBlur are more up-to-date and provide robust solutions.

Why this product is good

  • AOL Reader was a web-based RSS reader that was launched to provide users with a way to keep up with their favorite websites and topics in one place, especially after Google Reader's shutdown. It offered features like seamless integration with social media, customizable layouts, and mobile compatibility, which made it appealing for users who wanted a straightforward RSS solution.

Recommended for

    Originally, AOL Reader was recommended for users who were familiar with the AOL ecosystem or those looking for a straightforward and simple RSS reader solution. As it is no longer available, users are encouraged to explore other current options depending on their needs for either advanced features, mobile accessibility, or simple RSS feed aggregation.

NewsBlur videos

Newsblur - an online open-source RSS reader

More videos:

  • Review - Anleitung zum RSS-Feed-Reader Newsblur
  • Tutorial - Newsblur and RSS: A Quick Tutorial

AOL Reader videos

Aol Reader Review

More videos:

  • Review - Aol Reader First Look

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to NewsBlur and AOL Reader)
RSS
100 100%
0% 0
Communication
0 0%
100% 100
RSS Reader
100 100%
0% 0
Messaging
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare NewsBlur and AOL Reader

NewsBlur Reviews

19 Best Feedly Alternatives To Track Insights Across The Web
NewsBlur NewsBlur is a web-based RSS reader that provides a simple and fast way to keep up with your favorite websites. It offers features such as filtering, text-to-speech, and the ability to share stories on social media. Web, iOS, Android
17 Best RSS Feed Reader And News Aggregation Apps
NewsBlur also has intelligent content filters that you can use to scrutinize the content in your feed. These content discovery filters can actually learn the pattern of your searches and you can teach them too. This way you can see customized stories. Even if a source is publishing articles in bulk, it will show you only those of your interest.
The Best RSS Feed Readers for Streamlining the Internet
One thing that sets Newsblur apart is that it's open source. You can see the code on Github, and if you're comfortable with the command line you can even set up your own self-hosted version of Newsblur on your own server.
Source: www.wired.com
Hello, RSS
I looked at what RSS readers were popular by checking out my website analytics. I’ve always seen Feedly and Newsblur in there as referrers, but have also started to see Inoreader as well. Feedly has a robust offering, and it was a product I used a bit many years ago. It has a higher price point than some other services but in the end I just didn’t like the design. It felt...
Top 6 Free Online RSS Readers
NewsBlur is another popular RSS reader that aims to bring your articles from your favorite sites while maintaining the style of the original site. Easily organize your stories with categories and tags, hide stories you don't like and highlight stories you do like. You can also take a look at some of the third-party apps NewsBlur can be integrated with for even more versatility.

AOL Reader Reviews

We have no reviews of AOL Reader yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, AOL Reader should be more popular than NewsBlur. It has been mentiond 137 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

NewsBlur mentions (21)

  • Apple courier may have stolen 2 MacBooks, () Apple is not going to help
    As someone who has been on and off the Degoogle train (I ran full LineageOS without Google Play at one point) and is now pretty deep in iOS territory, I'd say the main thing for me has been email. I've used https://www.fastmail.com for a great deal of years now, which is also home to my calendar as well so there's nothing much of value tied to my Google account. YouTube subscriptions would be annoying to lose but... - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • After more than 20 years, I published my first dirty project
    I also use it for its Popular Bookmarks - I subscribed to its RSS feed in NewsBlur and always have something interesting to read when my other feeds are Empty (they rarely are). - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Killed by Google
    There's a bunch of replacements. I like https://newsblur.com but there are 4-6 large-ish similar sites. That said, partially what people miss is the relative cultural hegemony of Google Reader. It was RSS front-and-center, prominently featured on websites, supported by the biggest company in tech, with all the users there and able to take advantage of the (sparse) social features. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Ask HN: Alternatives to Reddit
    Https://newsblur.com/ I think this might be pretty close to what you're looking for. It's an RSS feed reader with a platform for discussions. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • With Reddit sunsetting, I'm looking back to RSS. What are the best current tools?
    Currently I'm on Newsblur. But it's really convoluted to Self host - to my "shame" I use their cloud hosted app with premium. It's (over)laden with features that I actually use and cheaper than for example Feedly. Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

AOL Reader mentions (137)

  • Beeper Cloud Update
    2) The proper email is not processing the login code email right, this is aol.com (my junk mail account). It seems to not be receiving beeper messages properly right now. I finally got the beeper codes I sent there several hours after they were requested. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Windows Mail Auto-configuration // Autodiscover.xml for non Exchange Servers
    I'm trying to get Windows Mail Auto-configuration to work. I'm using my Synology NAS as a mail server. Setting up the account manually works fine. First of all, what method is used here? The Exchange standard Autodiscover.xml doesn't seem to be the way according to checks run at https://testconnectivity.microsoft.com/tests/Ola/input with domains like icloud.com or aol.com as their tests all fail. Meanwhile adding... Source: over 1 year ago
  • Public Wi-Fi Issues: Really hard for users to connect
    I work for a major library system that has very weird issues with our public Wi-Fi network. When users want to sign on to our network, instead of being taken to the sign on screen, they have to go to an authenticating website like aol.com or espn.com. Once they put in the web address for those sites, the sign on screen for our network appears and they can agree to the TOS. Then they're actually connected to our... Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Does anyone remember Huchamp from Party Poker circa 2003?
    For those that played in online poker in the early 2000's, there was this email address, [huchamp@hotmail.com](mailto:huchamp@hotmail.com) or aol.com that you would email your Party Poker screenname to and he would send you $50. My friends and I made 100's of accounts on a daily basis. Does anyone know anything about him? I need answers.... Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Feel it in the knees after yesterday and today
    My user name got changed when aol.com tech support was fixing something else. Maybe find that. Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing NewsBlur and AOL Reader, you can also consider the following products

Feedly - The content you need to accelerate your research, marketing, and sales.

Digsby - Tagged makes it easy to meet and socialize with new people through games, shared interests, friend suggestions, browsing profiles, and much more.

Inoreader - Dive into your favorite content. The content reader for power users who want to save time.

Skype - Stay in touch with your family and friends for free on Skype. Download Skype today to chat and call on desktop and mobile.

Tiny Tiny RSS - Web-based news feed aggregator, designed to allow you to read news from any location, while feeling...

Facebook Messenger - Facebook Messenger is a faster way to message.