Mar 13 AT 8:05 PM Taylor Wimberly 65 Comments

What is the best Android alternative to Google Reader?

We all knew it was coming, and now Google has made it official. Starting July 1, 2013, Google will finally power down Google Reader. It’s not a very popular product, but Google Reader is still one of the most used RSS readers on Android devices. Google has said that users have four months to migrate to another service and they can back backup their data using Google Takeout, so now the search for a new home begins.

I use Google Reader every single day, so I’m one of those loyal power users looking for a new solution. I know there are plenty of alternative RSS readers available for Android, but I have no clue which one is the best. Now that we are being forced to use a different app, the quest to find the best experience begins.

If you want to help us crown the new king of RSS readers for Android, check out some of the alternatives below and let us know which one you like the most in the comments below.

gReader (Google Reader | RSS) Freenoinnion PLAY QR

Feedly. Google Reader News RSS FreeFeedly Team PLAY QR

RssDemon News & Podcast Reader FreeMeecel PLAY QR

NewsRob (Google Reader / RSS) FreeMariano Kamp PLAY QR

GoodNews (Google Reader | RSS) FreeSven Wiegand PLAY QR

Press (Google Reader) $2.99TwentyFive Squares PLAY QR

Which RSS reader will find a place on your homescreen?

Source: Google Reader Blog

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65 Comments Join the discussion!

Pope Messi II.Guest 03/13/13 8:08 PM

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1st

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- 97 SGB101 03/13/13 8:39 PM
  
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  The worst.
  
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  - 97 SGB101 03/14/13 1:05 PM
    
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    Why the down votes? it made me smile ;o)
    
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- 81 nikhilverma 03/14/13 10:03 AM
  
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  Well done to you , Sir. You just broke my record for most vote downs.
  
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94 oddball 03/13/13 8:12 PM

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For text I use Google currents. And for audio I use antennapod which has the additional perk of a really beautiful holo interface

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- illithidGuest 03/13/13 9:31 PM
  
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  I also use Currents everyday. But seeing how slow the update was, I’m afraid it’ll be axed soon.
  
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  - 8 fabien 03/14/13 1:31 AM
    
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    you are right ! they don’t hesitate to axe product that have a massive user base like reader , so goolge current is going down eventually !
    i’m very disapointed in google right now , i don’t trust them to keep their product running !
    
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    - 94 LukeT32 03/14/13 9:50 AM
      
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      I wonder what the actual # of installed users there are. I would think Google has a way to track it and see if the app is really that popular.
      
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- 86 CTown 03/14/13 12:02 AM
  
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  I cannot believe how most podcast catchers were ugly and/or overpriced before Antennapod came out!
  
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AndrewGuest 03/13/13 8:12 PM

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Most important feature of mobile client of any sort is ability to sync with cloud/desktop counterpart, and without Google Reader all those apps are pointless.

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- 100 Taylor Wimberly 03/13/13 8:19 PM
  
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  Developers will come in and support the community with their own solutions. There are millions of people who still use RSS. If Google doesn’t want to support it, then others will find a way.
  
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  - AndrewGuest 03/13/13 9:04 PM
    
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    I hope so, but creating complete (server + client for every platform), or at least basic (server + API) solution good enough for bringing developers in, is much harder than creating just app.
    
    And don’t forget, that Google is very good at balancing their thing with letting everybody play in their sandbox – almost every product from them is an open platform, that easy to migrate in or out of (like you can do now with Reader). Who can say that there is gonna be alternative in that regard – look at what Twitter doing, for example.
    
    I just baffled by two things: why people don’t use RSS (it’s like best thing ever!) and is it really that costly to maintain unpopular (by Google standards) product?
    
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    - 100 Taylor Wimberly 03/13/13 9:23 PM
      
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      Feedly has said they will clone the Google Reader API. If they don’t succeed then someone else will. I believe these clients will live on.
      
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      - 66 Dave Kratter 03/13/13 9:39 PM
        
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        I think you’re assuming a lot can be done in a very short time frame. I don’t think it’ll be possible to replicate so quickly. As Andrew said, if it doesn’t all sync up properly between desktop and mobile, it’ll be a failure.
      - 32 Krynn 03/13/13 9:41 PM
        
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        Feedly looks like a good start. Supposedly they’re fairly close to rolling out their own service that clone the API so all third party apps have to do is point to Feedly instead.
        
        Their client looks pretty good, except for a few nits and one or two bugs.
        
        For example, if there are no articles in a category, then I’d like an option for it to show me no articles – don’t show me stuff that’s in other categories that may or may not be unread (and may or may not be somewhat NSFW).
        
        As for bugs, the “Next” button they have at the top of every page doesn’t seem to work. That and the site is just plain slow (although that’s probably from all the Google Reader users jumping ship)
- 4 fade 03/13/13 8:36 PM
  
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  Yeah, definitely going to miss the ability to quickly try different services using one login with all my feeds.
  
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Kristopher WilsonGuest 03/13/13 8:12 PM

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Several of these are based off the Google Reader API and probably won’t work after it’s killed off…

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- 42 Dags - 03/13/13 8:54 PM
  
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  Exactly, there’s no point installing an app like gReader now when it is just a client for Google Reader services.
  
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  - Paul SimpsonGuest 03/14/13 4:24 AM
    
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    The gReader developer seems pretty active so I hope and expect he’ll be doing what he can to open the app up to other feed services. I use gReader Pro every day although the latest update a few days ago has killed it on my HTC Flyer. This happened once before and the developer fixed it a couple of days after I notified him so I’m hopeful I won’t be in the dark for too long.
    
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    - 56 Jeremy Sheehan 03/14/13 7:59 AM
      
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      I was actually in contact with the gReader (Noin Noin) dev yesterday asking another question. I mentioned this and he said that it isn’t much of an issue to port to another web service. He just needs suggestions here.
      
      https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups=#!topic/g_reader/yLRzT148670
      
      Aside from being a little slow, Feedly seems to work pretty good. I’m sure with the influx of traffic, feedly will incorporate more servers/bandwidth to accommodate.
      
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SimonGuest 03/13/13 8:13 PM

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The question here is what’s going to happen to those apps when Google Reader and its API shuts down??
Are these apps just client apps or able to stand on their own feet?

So far, Feedly has commented on this issue and it seems to be able to migrate seamlessly just by using the service and syncing Google reader.

I’ve installed the Feedly Chrome and Android app and so far so good :)

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- 4 RonakG 03/13/13 8:18 PM
  
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  Looks like lot of people are trying to migrate to Feedly and that’s causing their servers to slow down. I’m trying the Firefox extension since last 10 minutes and it’s still trying to sync.
  
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  - 27 aholland1 03/13/13 10:47 PM
    
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    Exactly. If they can’t handle the traffic at almost midnight on the east coast, they clearly don’t have the back-end infrastructure to handle the traffic, much less all the reader refugees out there, sigh. I’m going to bed; this is f’ing depressing.
    
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- 42 Dags - 03/13/13 8:51 PM
  
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  The question is will Feedly be able to scale up their infrastructure when they can no longer offload a lot of the back-end work to Google’s servers? Will they be able to make enough money to cover the extra costs? Those users who have migrated across to Feedly today are just the tip of the iceberg.
  
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jaduncanGuest 03/13/13 8:19 PM

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Most of the above aren’t RSS clients, they interact only with the Google servers. They are better understood as Google Reader clients, and are currently doubtlessly scrabling to change their whole underlying model.

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64 olentz 03/13/13 8:23 PM

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For the web, we have theoldreader.com as Google Reader replacement. They are quite mobile optimized. I’m not sure if they have anything in the work for native android replacement.

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KariGuest 03/13/13 8:38 PM

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Anyone try Taptu?

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6 Xerxes-major 03/13/13 8:55 PM

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Greader for sure.

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9 bdbplatano 03/13/13 9:00 PM

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What about Reader Free: http://goo.gl/ctsje

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- 8 fabien 03/14/13 1:34 AM
  
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  i think this is just a google reader client ! this will no longer work after 1st july
  
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dbareisGuest 03/13/13 9:08 PM

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You seem to have missed the point, the Google Reader service allows you to view a synced state on your phone, your desktop computers and from around the planet via a web browser. I know “NewsRob (Google Reader / RSS)” won’t do this as it uses Google Reader! I suapect none of your other ones do either.

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JGuest 03/13/13 9:17 PM

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Taptu is amazing. Even better than Pulse.

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66 Stella 03/13/13 9:47 PM

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My current favorite reader app is Press. I also will recommend EasyRSS, Pulse, and Feedly, I hope these app developers are working on updates soon so their apps don’t depend on Google Reader API.

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ChrisGuest 03/13/13 10:17 PM

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This is awful news. This service has been part of my daily life for years now. The problem with a few of the alternatives you provided is they tap into the Google Reader service, which will be unavailable soon. Thanks for this heads up

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- 82 donger 03/13/13 10:43 PM
  
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  Agreed.
  
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97 alexanderharri3 03/13/13 10:57 PM

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Google Reader is awesome and it shut down its closest competition…. I know they don’t like rss anymore considering there’s no longer arms quick adding chrome… But still… Reader is powerful and low maintenance to just keep it as is.

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46 fenlon 03/13/13 11:03 PM

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For google to do this after the io ticket registration bed shitting is a little too much for me in one day.

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MindOverSoulGuest 03/13/13 11:18 PM

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You should include Minimal Reader Pro on the list of clients. It has one of the best Holo designed interfaces, and the best widget of any RSS reader on Android. Press is pretty cool too, but with no widget, it’s a no go for me.

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maxxxGuest 03/13/13 11:42 PM

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Taptu is a must have app on my phones. It’s very well designed.

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DstroyaGuest 03/14/13 12:46 AM

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Feedly for the win. I’ve been using it as a “skin” for google reader for months. when it transitions things over i wont even notice. Whats nice is thet you can have different viewing styles for different subscriptions. List view for slashdot and magazine view for lolcats and so forth.

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79 kzlife 03/14/13 1:58 AM

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Why isn’t pulse news on the list?! D:

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ZanzaGuest 03/14/13 2:11 AM

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i dont like 3rd party rss reader where i have to enter my google details or where i have to fear that they could spy my password.

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Florea calinGuest 03/14/13 2:14 AM

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Hey, i Migrated from rss to twitter, all of the sites i had in my rss feed, have twitter feeds, much more easier and a lot of apps to use twitter, it worked for me, as for rss clients i used press over any other app, i tried them all, but press was the best for me.

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- 23 Carlos icee0711 03/14/13 2:08 PM
  
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  Funny thing about that is I did the same, but I was about to switch back to Google reader because twitter is pissing me off with the killing of better 3rd party apps. Now I don’t know what to do…
  
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HansJurgGuest 03/14/13 4:46 AM

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Feedly for sure.
I went from Firefox to Chrome as desktop browser and was missing the live bookmarks functionality. Feedly solved everything and no worries with syncing etc.

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Andrey JeglovGuest 03/14/13 5:44 AM

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I would like suggest another alternative to google reader.

Unlike ordinary RSS-readers, LikeHack (http://likehack.com) adds links from your Facebook and Twitter feeds, and also provides two kinds of custom filters to eliminate whole topics by keywords and exclude instagram photos and other media from your feed. It makes also all links you shared searchable.

We have launched recently and glad to invite you to test!

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23 jmon 03/14/13 6:34 AM

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There is no alternative. Google Reader is the best RSS reader I’ve ever used. Very sad that Google is taking it away.

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joshGuest 03/14/13 6:36 AM

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there is a petition on change.org to keep google reader. Please sign http://www.change.org/petitions/google-please-don-t-kill-google-reader?utm_campaign=action_box&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=share_petition

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BenGuest 03/14/13 7:01 AM

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Been using feedly for years here. Love it. Pulse is worth a mention too as I think it makes good use of the extra screen space on tablets

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GrimHunGuest 03/14/13 7:20 AM

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Hi,
I’m using feedly, because it is multi-platform (Android, Firefox). I tried several ones like flipboard, pulse, but I like feedly.

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tojenGuest 03/14/13 8:09 AM

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Tried flipboard, taptu, and feedly. So far none top Pulse. Feedly would be my second choice.

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AjayGuest 03/14/13 8:24 AM

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I’ve switch to Feedly. It’s got a clean interface and also stays synced across the desktop and tablet

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Mike EarleyGuest 03/14/13 10:11 AM

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Feedly. They are going to convert your Google Reader subscriptions to their GR ‘clone’ called Normandy, when Google goes dark. It’s also awesome, and available on all platforms. I’ve actually been using it as a replacement to GR (and Reeder, on Mac) for a LONG time now.

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85 McLovin 03/14/13 11:46 AM

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I use Google Reader every day too. This is not good news.

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Glen SkinnerGuest 03/14/13 1:10 PM

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https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=info.ribs.rssflow&feature=nav_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDMsImluZm8ucmlicy5yc3NmbG93Il0.

Flow Reader is my new favorite RSS reader. I moved over from NewsRob only a few months back and have not looked back. This does ofline reading so well it’s ridiculous. Not only that but it has a clean UI, it’s updating is REALLY fast due to parallel downloading. It is still in consistent development meaning that I am positive that he will implement something akin to OPML integration. I currently post on http://www.reddit.com/r/flowreader and let the dev know of any requested features and bug that need attending and he is quite responsive.

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22 kinderdm 03/14/13 2:48 PM

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I thought just the google reader app was going away, didn’t realize that all of google reader was going to go. Very disappointed. I like google a lot having finally switched from an iphone to a nexus phone, but this makes me hesitant to put my trust in them. What service that I depend on are they going to just shut down next?

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AndrewGuest 03/14/13 3:16 PM

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Flipboard, Currents, Pulse are not alternatives, you cannot add your own feeds just select from a list.

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- tojenGuest 03/14/13 4:11 PM
  
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  I don’t know about Flipboard or Currents, but I haven’t had any trouble adding feeds that were outside of the recommended choices on Pulse. There was a short time (1-2 weeks) where that feature was broke, but it has since returned. Could you elaborate a little more on what you are referring to?
  
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montyGuest 03/14/13 4:19 PM

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Can we get a kickstarter project to buy it off Google

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38 Monsunami 03/14/13 6:58 PM

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Thank goodness for feedly. Just found this gem a few days before demise of Google reader was announced. I hope currents will still be here.

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41 stringdidj 03/16/13 6:28 AM

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Flipboard has announced on google+ that they will continue to store/sync your saved rss feeds from google reader after July the 1st, https://plus.google.com/+Flipboard/posts?hl=en

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Renault CartierGuest 03/18/13 10:24 AM

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I’m using gReader since almost three years. It’s not a graphical application I agree, but when you want to scan very fast your content it’s very clear. But the most of it, and I tried all of them, is the offline option. When I said offline it really mean it. I take the subway (in Montréal) wich is completely underground, and I have the full content of each articles. Not only a part of it with a link for the browser, but really the full article. That’s why I stick with it and I’m very sorry that Google is pulling the plug on Google Reader!

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Sebastian CorkGuest 04/06/13 12:08 PM

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I love Press for deep reading, when I’m just generally browsing through my RSS feeds. You should add Minimal Reader to the list, however, as I also find it to be great for ‘speed reading’ through feeds.

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korbendallasGuest 05/12/13 1:59 PM

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Fortunately http://eldonreader.com is there. Just found it a few weeks ago and now I’m addict!

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dbroidGuest 05/17/13 12:25 PM

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MiniRead – News Ticker App

MiniRead app is new in the android market but has the potential to be in the top apps. Its a new innovation in RSS feeds/ News reading experience.

Google play store link:-
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dbroid.flexirss.trial

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