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FeedsBar, and how it compares
There are a few ways to keep an eye on the news on a Mac. Most of them make you stop and go and read. FeedsBar is built to stay out of your way.
In short
FeedsBar is a macOS news ticker that scrolls headlines from feeds you choose across your screen. Unlike menu bar RSS apps, full RSS readers, or scrolling X, it is built for staying aware rather than sitting down to read: always on, no account, a one-time $24.99 purchase, and topic orbs that group your sources and reduce each topic to three phrases.
Four ways to follow the news on a Mac
What actually matters for glanceable news. Readers win on breadth and on deep reading, because those are different jobs, and a comparison where we won every row would not help anyone choose.
| Criteria | FeedsBardesktop ticker | Menu bar appse.g. MenuBar RSS, baRSS | Full RSS readerse.g. NetNewsWire, Reeder, Feedly | Browser tabs and Xthe default habit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GlanceableAware without opening anything | Always on screen. Nothing to open. | A glance, then you click in. | You open a window to read. | Pulls you in and takes the hour. |
| PrivacyNo account, nothing about what you read | No account, and no third-party analytics. Your feeds and choices stay on your Mac. | Usually local, but it varies by app. | Native ones are private. Cloud sync needs an account. | Tracking and ad profiling by design. |
| PriceWhat it costs, and how | One-time $24.99. No subscription, no ads. | Free or cheap, often limited. | Free through to a monthly subscription. | Free, and you are the product. |
| SourcesWhat you can feed it | A curated catalog of RSS, YouTube and subreddits, chosen for signal rather than for size, plus up to 20 feeds of your own that stay on your Mac. | Mostly plain RSS. | Deep RSS, and some handle YouTube and Reddit. | One algorithm decides. |
| TopicsGrouped, not just listed | Orbs group your sources into topics and reduce each to three phrases. | A list of items. | Folders and filters, but no topic view. | Trending, chosen by engagement. |
| Full-screen boardSlim ticker or whole display | A slim ticker, or the whole screen as a board. | A dropdown. | A reading window, not a board. | More tabs. |
Smart Orbs
It reads the topic, not just the headline.
FeedsBar groups what your sources publish into topics, then reduces each to three phrases. Not headlines. The thing the headlines are about.
Live right now.
Click any phrase to open the article it came from. In the app, clicking the orb itself puts the ticker in focus mode and narrows it to that topic’s sources.
FeedsBar vs the alternatives
Short answers to the comparisons people actually search for.
FeedsBar vs NetNewsWire
NetNewsWire is a free, private RSS reader for sitting down and reading properly. FeedsBar is an ambient ticker for staying aware while you work. Different jobs, and plenty of people run both.
FeedsBar vs a menu bar RSS app
Menu bar apps keep headlines behind a click. FeedsBar keeps them moving in view, and adds a full-screen board and topic orbs.
FeedsBar vs Feedly or Inoreader
Those are cloud services: an account, and a subscription for the full feature set. FeedsBar keeps your choices on your Mac, needs no account, and is bought once.
FeedsBar vs following news on X
On X an engagement algorithm picks what you see. FeedsBar shows the sources you picked, in order, with no ranking for outrage.
Common questions
How does FeedsBar differ from a menu bar RSS app?+
FeedsBar is a purpose-built macOS news ticker for ambient awareness. It scrolls headlines from feeds you choose, works with RSS, YouTube and subreddit sources, needs no account, and is a one-time purchase. Menu bar apps keep headlines behind a click, and full RSS readers are built for sitting down to read.
How is it different from a full RSS reader?+
A reader is something you open to read and archive, and the cloud ones want an account and usually a subscription. FeedsBar is always on, needs no account, and is bought once. If you want deep reading, use a reader. If you want to stay aware while you work, that is what this is for.
What are Orbs?+
An orb is a topic. FeedsBar groups what your sources publish into topics and reduces each one to three phrases, each linking to the story it came from, so you can see what a topic is about without reading the list. News topics also carry a mood reading. Clicking an orb narrows the ticker to that topic.
Does FeedsBar track me or need an account?+
There is no account, and nothing about what you read leaves your Mac. Your feeds, filters and reading history stay there. The app does tell us roughly every six hours that it is running, behind a random id that is not tied to you, so we can count active installs. The app asks our API for headlines, and once a day it checks your licence key is still valid. Both are described in full on the privacy page.
What does it cost, and is there a trial?+
A one-time purchase, no subscription, covering every 1.x update. The app carries a free 30-day trial with every feature, and there is a full refund within 14 days of buying, no reason needed.
What sources can it show?+
Curated sets drawn from the catalog: Pulse, World Briefing, Business & Markets, Tech & AI, Makers, Science and Culture, covering RSS and Atom feeds, YouTube channels and subreddits. You can also add up to 20 of your own by pasting any RSS or Atom feed URL: those are fetched by your Mac, shown only on your ticker, never sent to us, and live the moment the URL validates. And you can suggest a source for the shared catalog, which joins it once it passes our checks.
Put the news on your desktop
Your sources, your screen, your terms.
One-time purchase. Full refund within 14 days, no reason needed. macOS.