In today's media landscape we're flooded with information from countless sources: news websites, blogs, trade publications and more. Feedly is an app that brings all these sources together in one clear, personal news reader. With Feedly you no longer have to visit dozens of websites; everything comes together in one application. In this article we explain how Feedly works and how to configure the app for your information needs.

What is Feedly?

Feedly is an RSS reader (Really Simple Syndication). RSS is a technology that lets websites make their new content automatically available to readers. With an RSS reader like Feedly, you subscribe to the RSS feeds of your favorite websites and receive all new articles in one central place.

Feedly goes beyond a traditional RSS reader by adding features such as organizing into folders, integration with other apps, AI-powered filtering and team features for business use.

Downloading Feedly and creating an account

Feedly is available on several platforms:

Mobile apps

Download the Feedly app from the App Store (iPhone/iPad) or Google Play Store (Android). The app is free, with optional paid upgrades.

Web version

You can also use Feedly at feedly.com in your web browser. The web version offers the same functionality and syncs with the mobile apps.

Creating an account

The first time you open the app, you create an account. You can sign in with your Google account, Apple ID or an email address. Your account syncs all your subscriptions and preferences across all your devices.

Adding your first feeds

Once you've created your account, it's time to add news sources:

Searching for sources

Tap the plus sign or 'Add Content' and enter the name of a website. Feedly searches its database and shows available feeds. You can also enter a website URL directly, and Feedly automatically tries to find the RSS feed.

Feedly has an 'Explore' section where you can discover popular sources, organized by category. This is handy for finding interesting new sources.

Dutch sources

Most Dutch news websites offer RSS feeds. Search for names such as 'NOS', 'NU.nl', 'Tweakers', 'De Correspondent' or 'RTL Nieuws' to add them.

Organizing feeds in folders

As you add more sources, organization becomes important. Feedly uses folders (also called 'Feeds' or 'Categories') to group sources:

Creating folders

When you add a source, you can choose which folder it goes into. You can also create new folders, for example 'News', 'Tech', 'Sports' or 'Work'.

Renaming and ordering folders

In the settings you can rename folders, delete them or change their order. That way you can put your most important categories at the top.

Reading all articles or by folder

You can choose to read all new articles from all your sources in one combined stream, or browse by folder if you want to focus on a specific topic.

Reading and saving articles

The reading experience in Feedly is optimized for efficiency:

Article view

Tap an article to open it. Feedly shows a cleaned-up version of the article, without the distracting elements of the original website. You can also click through to the original website if you prefer.

Marking articles

Swipe or use buttons to mark articles as read. You can also mark all articles in a folder as read at once to get through your backlog quickly.

Saving for later

You can save articles you want to read later to 'Read Later' or 'Boards'. These are collections where you can organize articles by theme or project.

Sharing

Share interesting articles to social media, email or other apps with the share feature.

Integrating Feedly with other apps

Feedly works with many other productivity apps:

Read-it-later apps

Integrate with Pocket, Instapaper or Readwise to save articles for offline reading or later processing.

Note-taking apps

Send articles directly to Evernote, OneNote or Notion to add them to your knowledge base.

Social media

Share to Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or Buffer for scheduled social media posts.

Automation

With the paid version you can connect Feedly to Zapier or IFTTT to automate workflows, such as posting tweets or archiving articles automatically.

Feedly free versus paid

Feedly has several subscription tiers:

Free

The free version offers the core functionality: following sources, organizing them in folders and reading articles. You can follow up to 100 sources and have access to the basic features.

Feedly Pro

For a monthly fee you get extra features such as unlimited sources, searching within articles, premium integrations and support.

Feedly Pro+

This version adds AI features such as Leo, the AI assistant that can filter, summarize and prioritize articles based on your preferences.

Feedly Enterprise

For teams and businesses, with features for collaboration, shared boards and extensive integrations.

Tips for using Feedly effectively

Here are some tips to get the most out of Feedly:

Start small: Don't add hundreds of sources right away. Start with your most important sources and expand gradually. Too many feeds can be overwhelming.

Be selective: Only subscribe to sources that consistently publish valuable content. Remove sources that add noise without adding value.

Set reading routines: Pick fixed moments to go through Feedly. This keeps you from reading constantly and helps you stay focused.

Use keyboard shortcuts: On desktop, Feedly has handy keyboard shortcuts. Press '?' to see an overview. This speeds up your workflow considerably.

Make use of filters: In the paid versions you can set up filters to see only articles that contain certain keywords, or to avoid them.

Alternatives to Feedly

Although Feedly is the most popular RSS reader, there are alternatives:

Inoreader: A powerful RSS reader with similar features and a good free version.

NewsBlur: An open-source alternative with social features.

Reeder: A premium RSS app for Apple devices with a beautiful design.

Flipboard: A more magazine-like presentation, less technical than traditional RSS readers.

Frequently asked questions

Below you'll find answers to frequently asked questions about Feedly.

Frequently asked questions

Is Feedly free to use?

Yes, Feedly has a free version that lets you follow up to 100 sources and use the basic functionality. Paid subscriptions are available for extra features.

What is RSS and how does it work with Feedly?

RSS is a standard that lets websites make their new content available automatically. Feedly reads these RSS feeds and shows all new articles in one centralized app.

Can I use Feedly offline?

The Feedly app stores recently loaded articles for offline reading. For full offline functionality, you can save articles to read-later apps such as Pocket.

How do I add a Dutch news site to Feedly?

Search Feedly for the name of the news site, such as 'NOS' or 'Tweakers'. Feedly automatically finds the RSS feed. You can also enter the website URL directly.

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