Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Fraidycat VS Lenns.io

Compare Fraidycat VS Lenns.io and see what are their differences

Fraidycat logo Fraidycat

A desktop app or browser extension for Firefox or Chrome. You can use it to follow people (hundreds) on whatever platform they choose - Twitter, a blog, YouTube, even on a public TiddlyWiki

Lenns.io logo Lenns.io

The feed reader for people that want to be in control
  • Fraidycat Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-11
  • Lenns.io Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-11-12

Fraidycat features and specs

  • Simplified Subscription Management
    Fraidycat provides an easy way to manage various content streams from different platforms in a single interface, eliminating the need to check multiple apps or websites.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    It works as a browser extension across major browsers, ensuring users can access it on any system that supports these browsers.
  • Minimalistic Design
    The interface is clean and minimalistic, helping users focus on content rather than getting distracted by excessive UI elements.
  • Categorization
    Allows users to categorize feeds by priority or interest, helping them to quickly access important updates.
  • Privacy-Conscious
    Fraidycat operates on the client-side without storing user data on external servers, thus ensuring greater privacy.

Possible disadvantages of Fraidycat

  • Limited Interaction
    Fraidycat only supports reading and does not allow interaction with content, such as liking or commenting, which can limit user engagement.
  • Learning Curve
    New users might find the unique approach to feed management and the interface slightly confusing at first, requiring some adjustment.
  • Feature Limitations
    While it covers many basic needs, it lacks some advanced features found in other feed aggregators like filters or keyword alerts.
  • Dependency on Browser
    As a browser extension, its functionality is limited to supported browsers, and it may not work as seamlessly in alternative web environments.
  • Manual Updates
    Users may need to manually refresh or check updates for some feeds, as it doesn’t always automatically refresh in real-time.

Lenns.io features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Lenns.io offers a clean and intuitive interface, making it easy for users to navigate and utilize its features efficiently.
  • Wide Range of Features
    The platform provides a comprehensive set of tools and functionalities, catering to various user needs and enhancing the overall user experience.
  • Security Measures
    Lenns.io implements robust security protocols to protect user data and privacy, ensuring a safe online environment.
  • Responsive Customer Support
    The platform is known for its prompt and helpful customer service, assisting users with their inquiries and resolving issues quickly.

Possible disadvantages of Lenns.io

  • Subscription Cost
    Some users may find the subscription fees to be on the higher side, which could be a barrier for individuals or organizations with limited budgets.
  • Feature Overlap
    Certain tools and functionalities may overlap, potentially causing confusion for users trying to navigate the platform effectively.
  • Learning Curve
    Despite its user-friendly interface, new users might require some time to fully understand and utilize all the available features efficiently.
  • Limited Customization
    The platform offers limited options for customization, which might not meet the specific needs of some users looking for tailored solutions.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Fraidycat and Lenns.io)
RSS Reader
65 65%
35% 35
RSS
54 54%
46% 46
RSS Client
73 73%
27% 27
Feed Reader
0 0%
100% 100

Questions and Answers

As answered by people managing Fraidycat and Lenns.io.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

Lenns.io's answer:

Ruby on Rails, Postgres, Sidekiq.

User comments

Share your experience with using Fraidycat and Lenns.io. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Fraidycat and Lenns.io

Fraidycat Reviews

  1. Stan
    · Founder at SaaSHub ·
    A great way to follow RSS

    I was looking for something like this for quite some time. I've been using Fraidycat for about 2 months now. It's very simple and easy to use. I love the you can organize your feeds by simple "emoji" tags. Also, the idea of setting an importance/frequency level per feed is great.

    If only more websites had RSS feeds...

    🏁 Competitors: Feedly, The Old Reader
    👍 Pros:    Simple|Unique

Lenns.io Reviews

  1. Stan
    · Founder at SaaSHub ·
    The unique RSS/website reader

    Lenns.io is more than a RSS reader. It's a website reader as it can follow posts by titles in cases when there isn't an exposed RSS feed.

    My favourite part is setting priorities per source and category as well as limiting the number of posts per source. That way, a single source cannot overflow my feed.

    🏁 Competitors: Fraidycat
    👍 Pros:    Source priority support|Category priority support
    👎 Cons:    Opinionated

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Fraidycat should be more popular than Lenns.io. It has been mentiond 30 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Fraidycat mentions (30)

  • Reading RSS content is a skilled activity
    There are a couple readers that avoid that by providing a calmer experience without a firehose and without background fetching. https://blogcat.org (I made this one) https://fraidyc.at (this is the inspiration for many calm readers) https://cblgh.itch.io/rad-reader (multiplatform and super calm). - Source: Hacker News / 4 days ago
  • Show HN: Artemis, a Calm Web Reader
    For reference, and not implying it's better or worse than your work OP, I've pleasantly used Fraidycat (https://fraidyc.at/) in the past. It's a webextension, so completely local, and also incorporates the idea of having a "calmer" experience: no infinite list of links to check, different update rates, ... I love your philosophy page, OP ! (https://jamesg.blog/2024/11/30/designing-a-calm-web-reader/). - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Did rachelbythebay.com block my IP address because of my feed reader?
    I'm using Fraidycat (https://fraidyc.at/) which I enjoy a lot, but given her recent crusade against feed readers, I suspect that that's the reason that my IP address got blocked or so. (At least, that's what my ISP is leading me to believe because there is no issue on their end). Anyone else out there on the blacklist? - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • MeTube: Self-Hosted YouTube Downloader
    There's the fraidycat extension that I use to do exactly that: https://fraidyc.at/. - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Google helped destroy adoption of RSS feeds
    I went years without consuming RSS until I discovered Fraidy Cat[1] here at Hacker News. 1. https://fraidyc.at. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
View more

Lenns.io mentions (11)

  • Time spent programming is often time well spent
    "p.s. I will be building an RSS reader/platform in the coming weeks" - the RSS reader was actually built. And it's been actively used and public since then: https://lenns.io/. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Ask HN: Show me your half baked project
    Https://lenns.io/ - it may not be exactly ready for prime time (lacking communication & marketing); however, it's been fully functional and my RSS reader of choice for the last 2 years. Why - a single source cannot overwhelm my feed; I can set priorities to sources and categories;. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Vore: A new RSS feed reader
    For those interested in new(opinionated) RSS readers, I'd like to know what you guys think about https://lenns.io/? - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Ask HN: Most interesting tech you built for just yourself?
    I built an opinionated RSS/website reader - https://lenns.io. Everyone can register and use it, but it's built based on my requirements and vision only. Yet, I believe it could be useful to others, and that's why I made it open for everyone to use. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • Google Reader Inspired RSS Reader
    For those interested in "alternative" RSS Readers, I'd welcome you giving a go to my opinionated RSS (not only) reader - https://lenns.io. It supports tracking articles by headlines in those cases when a blog or a website doesn't support RSS. Plus a few other goodies, like assigning priorities to your feeds (and topics) and limiting the number of posts per source. Enjoy. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Fraidycat and Lenns.io, you can also consider the following products

Miniflux - Miniflux is a minimalist web-based RSS reader. It's very easy to use.

Tiny Tiny RSS - Web-based news feed aggregator, designed to allow you to read news from any location, while feeling...

Feedly - The content you need to accelerate your research, marketing, and sales.

1Feed - 1Feed is your quiet place on the internet, where you can focus on the people and content you care about.

Inoreader - Dive into your favorite content. The content reader for power users who want to save time.

NewsBlur - NewsBlur is a personal news reader that brings people together to talk about the world.