# Feedly vs Flipboard: Which to Use in 2026

> Feedly vs Flipboard in 2026: an RSS reader where you pick every source, or a free magazine app that picks for you. Prices, ads, sources and apps compared.

Published by Hushread, 2026-10-16. Canonical: https://hushread.com/blog/feedly-vs-flipboard

*Disclosure: Hushread is my app. I've tried to be fair, and I say where the others are the better choice.*

Feedly vs Flipboard comes down to who chooses what you read. Pick Feedly if you want a feed reader: you add the sites, blogs, YouTube channels and subreddits yourself, and you can read them newest first. Pick Flipboard if you would rather browse: it is a free, visual magazine where editors and an algorithm fill your For You feed, and people curate Magazines you can follow. Flipboard costs nothing and has no paid tier on the App Store. Feedly is free for 100 sources, and its paid plans start at $7.99 a month in the US App Store. Both show ads on their free versions.

## Feedly vs Flipboard at a glance

Prices and ratings checked on 15 October 2026, from the US App Store and US Google Play unless noted:

| | Feedly | Flipboard |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Feed reader: you add every source | Magazine app: editors and an algorithm choose |
| Price | Free for 100 sources; Pro $7.99 a month and Pro+ $15.99 a month as iPhone in-app purchases | Free, no in-app purchases listed |
| Ads | Sponsored ads on Free; Pro hides them | Ads, no paid way to remove them that I found |
| Order of the feed | Latest or Oldest, plus Top Stories and Most Shared | Not strictly chronological, ranked by algorithms |
| Your own RSS feeds | Yes, the core of the app | A 2017 blog post describes it; nothing newer on Flipboard's pages mentions it |
| Social accounts | Bluesky on every plan, Reddit, YouTube | Threads and Mastodon, in the mobile apps only |
| Muting | Mute filters on Pro+ | No way to truly mute a topic; "Show less like this" hides one article |
| Google Play | 4.4 stars, 317K reviews, 5M+ downloads | 3.4 stars, 1.41M reviews, 500M+ downloads |
| App Store | 4.6 stars, 26K ratings | 4.7 stars, 329K ratings |

## Price: free magazine against a freemium reader

Flipboard's iPhone app is listed as free, with no in-app purchases on the page, and it runs on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch from iOS 15 ([App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flipboard-the-social-magazine/id358801284)). I found no paid plan anywhere on Flipboard's pages. You pay with attention: the Google Play listing carries the "Contains ads" label.

![Flipboard's US Google Play listing showing Contains ads, 3.4 stars from 1.41M reviews, 500M+ downloads, an Editors' Choice badge, and Surf listed under More by Flipboard](/blog-img/feedly-vs-flipboard/flipboard-play.webp)
*Flipboard on Google Play, US listing, 15 October 2026. Source: [play.google.com](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=flipboard.app&hl=en_US&gl=US)*

Feedly is free up to a limit. Its help center says the free (Basic) plan allows "100 sources, 3 Feeds, and 3 Boards" ([Feedly help](https://docs.feedly.com/article/43-how-can-i-cancel-the-subscription)). On the US App Store, Feedly Pro Monthly is $7.99 and Feedly Pro+ Monthly is $15.99 ([App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/feedly-smart-news-reader/id396069556)).

Paying yearly on the web costs less, but Feedly quotes different prices by country. My [Feedly pricing](/blog/feedly-pricing) post has the US yearly figures and how they renew. For reference, when I opened the pricing page from India, Pro showed as $6.99 a month billed annually and Pro+ as $8.93 a month, struck through from $12.37, a 30% discount the page put at $41 saved in the first year. Those are India prices.

![Feedly's pricing page as loaded from India, showing Pro at $6.99 a month billed annually with 1,000 feeds and Hide sponsored ads, Pro+ at $8.93 down from $12.37 with up to 2,500 feeds, Feedly AI Feeds, newsletters and deduplication, and Enterprise on request](/blog-img/feedly-vs-flipboard/feedly-pricing.webp)
*Feedly's pricing page as quoted to an address in India on 15 October 2026. A US address may see different prices. Source: [feedly.com](https://feedly.com/i/pro)*

The [pricing page](https://feedly.com/i/pro) also lists what the money buys. Pro raises the cap to 1,000 feeds and adds search, notes and highlights, new articles "up to 10x faster" and "Hide sponsored ads". Pro+ goes to 2,500 feeds and adds Feedly AI, AI Feeds, newsletters, Google News feeds, the RSS Builder, deduplication and mute filters. Enterprise goes to 7,500 feeds, priced through Feedly's sales team.

## Who picks what you read

### Flipboard: editors plus an algorithm

Flipboard's help center says the For You feed "contains the best of everything you follow" and that Flipboard "may fill it with recommended content" if you follow little ([Flipboard help](https://flipboard.helpshift.com/hc/en/1-flipboard/faq/676-tune-your-for-you-feed/)).

People shape it too. A Flipboard post on misinformation says its editors' choices "influence the blended algorithm that powers the popular 'For You' feed", and that the process starts with "a vetted set of publishers" ([Flipboard](https://about.flipboard.com/inside-flipboard/how-flipboard-combats-misinformation/)).

Do not expect time order. Flipboard says content "may not always appear in exact chronological order" and may be arranged by algorithms such as most popular or most shared ([Flipboard help](https://flipboard.helpshift.com/hc/en/1-flipboard/faq/305-articles-seem-out-of-order/)).

Magazines are the exception. Flipboard says "Magazines and topic feeds are not personalized; every Flipboard user gets the same content" ([Flipboard help](https://flipboard.helpshift.com/hc/en/1-flipboard/faq/1011-show-less-like-this/)). The same page admits "We don't currently offer the ability to truly mute a topic", and "Less Like This" works only in the US and some other markets.

### Feedly: you choose, then you sort

Feedly shows what your sources publish. Its help center lists "Latest" and "Oldest" as chronological sorts, plus "Top Stories", ranked by how widely sources cover a story, and "Most Shared" ([Feedly help](https://docs.feedly.com/article/260-how-can-i-sort-by-popularity)). So you can read in plain time order or switch on ranking when you want it.

The AI is optional and sits on Pro+. On Free and Pro you get a reader, not a recommender.

## What each one can follow

Feedly's App Store description lists newspapers and trade publications, blogs and research journals, YouTube channels and podcasts, and Reddit feeds and Google News alerts. Since February 2025 it also follows Bluesky accounts, lists and feeds, "available for all Feedly product tiers" ([Feedly blog](https://feedly.com/new-features/posts/bluesky)). Newsletters need Pro+.

Flipboard is built around topics, publications and Magazines. Its social reach goes to the fediverse: you can follow Threads and Mastodon profiles and see their posts in the app. Flipboard's help page says this is "only available on Flipboard's iOS and Android apps", and that "Only Threads accounts with fediverse sharing enabled" can be followed ([Flipboard help](https://flipboard.helpshift.com/hc/en/1-flipboard/faq/1647-how-can-i-follow-accounts-from-the-fediverse-on-flipboard/)).

Can Flipboard take your own RSS feed? An old post on its blog says to paste the feed URL into search and follow it from the "Social" tab, provided the feed is full-text, has images and at least 30 items ([Flipboard](https://about.flipboard.com/inside-flipboard/rss-feed-on-flipboard/)). Its images are dated January 2017, and nothing newer on Flipboard's pages says the app still works that way.

Flipboard's real answer to RSS is a separate app. Surf, announced on 2 April 2026, builds feeds that "can include sources from Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, YouTube, podcast services, blogs and newsletters (RSS)". At launch it was still in beta, with Android on Google Play and iOS by invite ([Flipboard](https://about.flipboard.com/press/surf-launches-social-websites-a-new-model-for-social-media/)). On 15 October, Google Play listed Surf under "More by Flipboard" with a 3.1-star rating.

## Ads and privacy

Both free apps show ads. Feedly's US Android listing reads "Contains ads" and "In-app purchases", with 4.4 stars from 317K reviews ([Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.devhd.feedly&hl=en_US&gl=US)). Its pricing page puts "Hide sponsored ads" in Pro, so paying is how you remove them. I found no way to pay Flipboard to remove its ads.

The App Store privacy labels differ more than I expected. Flipboard's lists location, identifiers and usage data as "Data Used to Track You", and data linked to you includes precise location, contact info and search history. Feedly's label says "Data Not Collected". Both labels are written by the developer, and Apple notes it has not verified them.

## Apps and devices

Both run on iPhone, iPad and Android, and both have a website: [flipboard.com](https://flipboard.com/) shows story cards under "Stories Curated For You" before you sign in. Flipboard adds Apple Watch. Feedly's news reader page also offers Chrome and Firefox extensions ([Feedly](https://feedly.com/news-reader)).

One thing to know about Feedly: its [home page](https://feedly.com/) now leads with "The fastest way to track emerging threats with AI", and the reader sits behind a "Go to News Reader" link. My post on [what happened to Feedly](/blog/what-happened-to-feedly) has the dated details.

## If you want Flipboard's ease with Feedly's control

If you are leaving Flipboard because of the algorithm but found a full feed reader too much work, Hushread is what I built for that case. You add sources (RSS feeds, websites without a feed, subreddits, YouTube channels, topics) and it shows every article newest first, with nothing ranked or injected. When several of your sources cover one event, they fold into one story, so one event does not fill your feed several times over, and nobody else chooses what appears.

The limits are real: the free plan holds 5 sources, against Feedly's 100. There is no browser extension and no newsletter inbox, two things Feedly has. Pro is $1.25 a month billed yearly ($14.99 a year in the US), with no ads and no ad tracking.

## FAQ

### Is Feedly or Flipboard better?

Feedly is better if you know which sites you want to follow and want them in time order. Flipboard is better if you want to browse topics and Magazines that editors and other users put together, without setting much up.

### Is Flipboard free?

Yes. The App Store lists Flipboard as free with no in-app purchases, and Google Play labels it "Contains ads".

### Is Feedly free?

Yes, up to 100 sources, 3 Feeds and 3 Boards, with sponsored ads. On the US App Store, Pro is $7.99 a month and Pro+ is $15.99 a month.

### Can Flipboard read RSS feeds like Feedly?

Not in the same way. A 2017 Flipboard post describes following a feed by pasting its URL into search, but nothing newer on Flipboard's pages says that still works. Flipboard's newer app Surf follows RSS, and it was in beta at its April 2026 launch.

### Flipboard or Feedly for following Threads and Mastodon?

Flipboard. Its iOS and Android apps follow Threads and Mastodon accounts, while Feedly follows Bluesky on every plan.

If you read for discovery and do not mind ads, Flipboard is the better choice and costs nothing; my [Google News vs Flipboard](/blog/google-news-vs-flipboard) comparison covers its closest rival. If you want to own your source list, Feedly is the better choice, and the [Feedly alternatives](/blog/feedly-alternatives) roundup covers the readers with bigger free plans. If you want a short list of your own sources, newest first, Hushread's free plan is enough to test that with 5 of them: [hushread.com](https://hushread.com/#download).