Reading

Should you build your own NewsBlur?

Self-host a feed reader with training filters, folders, and full-text search

Buildable · the essentials fit in one project
Price $3/moEstimated savings $36/yrEstimated time one sittingCategory ReadingCatalog votes 0

The core loop is small enough for a capable coding agent to produce a useful local version in one sitting. For NewsBlur, self-host a feed reader with training filters, folders, and full-text search. The hard boundary is hosted convenience, native apps, story intelligence, and community features, plus capture polish, sync, and content partnerships.

ENOriginal research content in English. Original prompt preserved in English.

The complete prompt
Build a personal replacement for NewsBlur in an empty repository.
Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, SQLite, Drizzle ORM, Readability.js, and a local background worker; do not offer alternative stacks.
The core loop is: self-host a feed reader with training filters and folders, extract readable text from permitted feeds, search the full archive, and export it in open formats.
Make the first run work locally with one documented command.
Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward.
Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials.
Support manual URL save, RSS or Atom subscriptions, OPML import, and a simple bookmarklet.
Fetch politely with a clear user agent, rate limits, conditional requests, and robots-aware behavior.
Extract title, author, date, canonical URL, readable HTML, and selected images.
Provide inbox, unread, archive, favorites, tags, highlights, notes, and full-text search.
Keep the original URL prominent and never attempt to bypass authentication or paywalls.
Export OPML, bookmarks HTML, Markdown, and a complete JSON backup.
Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states.
Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs.
Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path.
Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps.
Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane.
Deliberately leave out paywall circumvention.
Deliberately leave out licensed publisher content and recommendation networks.
Deliberately leave out native mobile clients and seamless commercial sync.
Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used.

The prompt opens pre-filled in your agent. Review it before running. · this prompt is generated from the build plan · improve it via PR

Original prompt preserved in English.

What would building your own look like?

Self-host a feed reader with training filters and folders, extract readable text from permitted feeds, search the full archive, and export it in open formats.

What you will need

Why paying can still make sense

People still pay for NewsBlur because people pay when capture works everywhere, reading state syncs instantly, and the archive remains clean without constant parser repairs. The recurring cost buys feed quirks, parsing, paywalls, canonical URLs, deduplication, images, search, sync, browser extensions, and publisher changes, not just the visible interface.

What you lose

xhosted convenience, native apps, story intelligence, and community features

xpublisher bypasses

xcross-device mobile capture

xhigh-quality recommendation graph

xlicensed full-text feeds

Share on X ↗"I just replaced NewsBlur ($3/mo) with one prompt"
Free alternatives

Prefer something ready-made?

FreshRSSA proper feed reader with no product manager deciding which feature becomes premium.16kAug 2026Open source↗MinifluxA fast feed reader for people who think settings pages are a moral failure.9.6kMay 2026Open source↗NewsBlurNewsBlur without the subscription, plus Postgres, MongoDB, Redis and a new hobby.7.6kAug 2026Open source↗

View all 3 alternatives to NewsBlur →· Licença, instalação e limitações em cada alternativa.

Plans and pricing

How much does NewsBlur cost?

In your currency · US DollarChecked on 10/20/2026
Monthly billing
$3/mo
Per year
$36/yr
Buy on the official site

You complete the purchase on NewsBlur’s site. Vibe Radar does not handle payments.

PlanMonthlyAnnual (per month)What is included
free$0/user$0/userUp to 64 sites; real-time RSS, training filters and saved stories.
premium$3/user$3/userUp to 1,024 sites.
premium archive-$8.25/userUp to 4,096 sites; searchable archive retained indefinitely; AI and briefing features.
premium pro$29/user-Up to 10,000 sites; 5–15 minute feed fetching; regular-expression tools.

Free tier64 sites

Billing termsPremium and Premium Archive are annual-only; Premium Pro is monthly-only; 30-day Premium trial with no card

Additional costsupgrades are prorated; on downgrade, feeds above the lower plan limit are muted; self-hosting uses open-source software but requires separately paid infrastructure

verified 2026-10-20 · source ↗

Build or buy

Is it cheaper to build or buy NewsBlur?

Adjust the numbers: hours to build, your hourly rate, running costs and the subscription price.

Subscribe
Build it yourself
Horizon
Subscribe$72
Build it yourself$1,520

Over 24 months, subscribing is cheaper.

Starting hours estimated from the analysis (one sitting). Does not price what you give up (support, integrations, security).

Frequently asked questions
Can I rebuild NewsBlur?

Yes. A competent AI coding agent (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor) can build a usable personal NewsBlur replacement in one session with the prompt on this page. It runs on your own machine or server with no subscription.

How much does NewsBlur cost?

NewsBlur costs about $3/mo (Premium, checked 10/20/2026), which is $36 per year. That’s what you save by replacing it with one prompt.

What do I lose by replacing NewsBlur?

Honestly: hosted convenience, native apps, story intelligence, and community features; publisher bypasses; cross-device mobile capture; high-quality recommendation graph; licensed full-text feeds. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.

Is there an open-source alternative to NewsBlur?

Yes: FreshRSS (A proper feed reader with no product manager deciding which feature becomes premium.) Miniflux (A fast feed reader for people who think settings pages are a moral failure.) NewsBlur (NewsBlur without the subscription, plus Postgres, MongoDB, Redis and a new hobby.) All 3 curated free alternatives are at https://viberadar.si/newsblur-premium/alternatives. The prompt is for when you want it exactly your way.

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