Ever since the announcement of the shutdown of Google Reader, many loyal Google Reader users have been looking for alternatives for following their favorite blogs. Well, look no further, as I have complied a list of alternatives for you to try! (And if you are new to the idea of an RSS reader, it is a program that aggregates the content of your favorite blogs, thereby giving you one place to sort through it and get the information you need.)
Cross-Platform Readers
- The Feedly platform is available online through your desktop, or through iOS and Android Apps. Because of the cloud element to the app, your selections will be in sync no matter where you access your feeds. The service also has many options for sharing articles across your social network. Feedly has even created a transition process from Google Reader to make the process easier.
- Pulse is a feed reader that combines your feeds and social networks with a save for later feature. It is available for the web, iOS and Android.
- Taptu is cross platform-feed aggregator that helps you discover new content or browse through your existing feeds. I was not the biggest fan of the interface, but the pro is that it is available for web, iPhone/iPad, Android devices, Nook and Blackberry.
- NewsBlur is available for free on the web, iPad, iPhone, and Android, with additional premium features available for a fee. While not as pretty as some of the other options, it’s very lightweight and doesn’t take up a lot of memory.
Online Readers
- The Old Reader was created by people who liked the older version of Google Reader and wanted it to stick around. Those familiar with Google Reader should have no problems using it.
- NetVibes is an online reader that offers both free/basic options and premium options like brand monitoring.
Mobile Readers
- Fliboard is an app for iPhone, iPad and Android devices that turns your feeds into your own personal magazines.
- For iPhone and iPad, try Reeder for a simple, clean RSS feed reader. Other options: Feeddler or NewsRack.
- To discover new feeds by topic on iOS, try Zite.
- For Android devices, you can try News360 or RSS Junkie.
Desktop Readers
- NewsFire is a simple and easy to use desktop client for Mac OS.
- For windows users, try Thunderbird or RSS Bandit as your dekstop RSS client.
- RSSOwl is a classic, easy to use client for Mac OS or windows.
Bonus Time Saver!
Head over to Google Takeout to export your current feeds from Google Reader and import them (as an .xml file) into your new reader program! (More instructions are here if you need them.)
Do you use a reader that’s not on this list?
Share in the comments below!