As part of my transition to a single Surface Pro for computing, I’m trying to find a balance between my iPhone and PC. I’m not big into social media anymore, but I still lean into RSS. For a while I was using Reeder’s built-in iCloud sync. I still like Reeder, but it’s become clear this is a space I have to throw money around to make it work cross-platform.
For a while I tried Reader by Readwise, but the web version is clumsy and I hate all the “extras” they tack in, like estimated reading time, automatic (and best I can tell, forced) AI summaries of articles, and the scrolling function is maddening. It insists on “scrolling up” to the last read story, as if you must only read one thing at a time in linear fashion. This is not how I or surely any normal person browses RSS feeds. Readwise is expensive, at $9.99 a month and while I like the idea of some of it (like Kindle and note syncing), everything about it leaves me underwhelmed.
So I’ve landed on Feedbin. It’s relatively cheap as RSS feed sync engines go and their web app is pretty good.
But I like a native experience when I can get it. So I tried several RSS readers from the Microsoft Store and they all suck. Hard.
Feedmill was a whole $5 and doesn’t even sync in images, or let you resize columns!
Feedbin, however, is the best I’ve found. You can install it as an Edge PWA or with Web Catalog. And because Feedbin works with lots of services, you can still use any other app on other platforms. I continue to use Reeder on my iPhone, which works faster with Feedbin than with the old iCloud Sync. Still, you have to throw some money at the problem by subscribing to Feedbin.
Honestly, Feedbin’s faster and works just as well or maybe better as Reeder on a Mac. The only hiccup is I have to get used to Shift+A instead of just “A” for “Mark All as Read.” Worth noting, Feedbin’s shortcuts can be displayed in an overlay with “?”
I’ve also tried Inoreader and Feedly, but find that both of them are trending into new markets that don’t interest me much and make me assume I’m not useful as an individual customer. They’re clearly moving toward enterprise and business markets.
