Newsletter Readers: Reeder5 vs. Meco
💭 Which one of these digital tools works best for the reader-writer?
Recently, when several writers were asked for their best advice for new writers,
shared this gem:It’s such clichéd advice, but reading every day, and reading everything you can (even outside your normal genre) is such a good way to learn. Even if you're not studying, you'll be subconsciously picking up tips as you go along.
While picking up a book and flipping thought the pages is old school reading, it is still the best way to gain wisdom to feeds our writing goals. But a physical book-in-hand is not for everyone. Reading a physical book may be the fastest way to induce sleep, but a device in hand with its flashing screen somehow puts our tired eyes on overdrive.
The Amazon Kindle app works well for the purchased books. Our local libraries have apps like Libby to help us borrow digital books for free. What about newsletters?
Well, there’s an app for newsletters too. In fact, many many apps. In this post, we share the pros and cons of two easy-to-use apps. They are easy on the wallet, easy on our eyes, and easy for reading Substack newsletters.
Reeder5 vs. Meco
Reeder5 focuses on simplicity, Meco is feature-rich.
✅ Reeder is 17+ years old and currently at a stable version 5 ✅ Reeder5 is a simplistic design, which won Editor’s Choice award for its design ❌ Reeder was last updated a year ago, so we should expect less feature add-ons ✅ Meco is 4+ years old, last update was 3 weeks ago ✅ Meco has more intuitive UI and packed with a lot more free features 💭 Reeder and Meco are iOS only, have no option for Android users 💭 Meco has a 4.7 stars from 300 ratings, Reeder has 4.2 stars from 650 ratings
Meco and Reeder5 are both cost-effective for your digital reading.
✅ Reeder5 costs only a one-time payment of $4.99 for iOS ($9.99 for MacOS) ✅ Meco is free to use, allowing users to discover newsletters on the app 💭 Meco advanced/pro feature use the subscription model of $4.99 per month
Meco is building a network. Reeder5 stays focused on the reader.
✅ Meco has pre-approved newsletters to “Discover”, to help us find some of the best newsletters out there 💭 Meco recommendations may get outdated over time or too crowded ❌ Meco does not allow its users to add other Substacks for reading, unless we subscribe to them with a Meco-generated email address ✅ Reeder5 allows the user to add any self-discovered newsletter feed, including Substacks without having to subscribe to all ❌ Neither Meco nor Reeder allow users to engage with the newsletter directly
Here’s how you decide.
✅ Reeder, if you prefer a one-time buy + ability add all your favorite Substacks ✅ Meco, if you want to discover newsletter you wouldn't find otherwise 💭 Use both, if you don't mind more apps - Discover on Meco, Read on Reeder