Google pulled the plug on Google Reader last summer, and the world didn’t end. But a lot of folks who had been using the cloud-based RSS reader had to scramble to find a new solution. It seems like Feedly picked up the lion’s share of those Google Reader refugees, but it’s not the only game in town.

The Old Reader is a feed reader that looks and works a lot like the classic version of Google Reader. While it buckled under a traffic surge last year, the web app is now under new ownership, and it has a business plan.

It’s now a freemium service. You can use it for free if you subscribe to 100 feeds or fewer. Power users can now sign up for Premium accounts.

The Old Reader

The Old Reader Premium lets users subscribe to up to 500 feeds, store posts for 6 months, and access advanced features including full-text search, faster feed updates, and integration with Instapaper and Readability.

Accounts run $3 per month or $30 per year, but early adopters can get in on the action for $2 per month or $20 per year for the first 2 years.

Those prices are cheaper than the $5 per month or $45 per year you’d have to pay for a Feedly Pro account. On the other hand, Feedly doesn’t cap your feed subscription count and offers an API that for third-party apps including a number of popular mobile feed readers.

Update: The Old Reader also has an API that supports third party apps. Thanks fepegeuu!

Still, it’s nice to see a bit more competition in the cloud-based RSS feed reader space. It helps keep the major players on their toes and helps ensure that if there’s another feed reader-pocalypse, users will have another place to go.

Digg Reader, NewsBlur, Feedspot, and BazQux are other online feed readers that have a bit of a fan base.

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2 replies on “The Old Reader gets a business plan, launches Premium accounts”

  2. The Old Reader also provides an API that is supported by a large number of mobile apps: https://theoldreader.com/pages/apps

    Also, some of the features of Feedly Pro are available for free in The Old Reader, like Pocket integration, “Send To” (called “Custom Sharing” in Feedly Pro), or search. Given that no human being is probably able to digest more than several hundred feeds (that you can get for free in The Old Reader), I would choose more features over larger feed cap that I will never be able to use.

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