As almost any loyal Google Reader devotee will likely inform you, July 1 was a dark day in the history of the internet. That was the day that Google officially pulled the plug on its popular RSS Reader.
Of course, the world kept spinning and you probably woke up on July 2 with a new Reader. It wasn’t exactly any easy task since there wasn’t a replacement that could fill every feature that Google Reader subscribers were offered. But, if there was one replacement that almost fit the bill, it would be Feedly.
Feedly welcomed more than half-a-million new users for its free service after Google announced that Reader was going to end back in March. For the most part, Feedly has been one of the better options for those seeking a Google Reader alternative. For example, Feedly easily allowed Google Reader users to transfer their subscriptions with just one click. However, there remained a couple of flaws, mainly not being able to search for articles.
That feature has been rectified. But, it’s going to cost you.
If you use Feedly, you probably noticed that on August 5 you were invited to join something called Feedly Pro for a lifetime subscription of $99. The offer was only available to 5,000 users and sold out within eight hours. For those that missed that opportunity, Feedly Pro can now be purchased for $5 per month or $45 annually.
So, what does a paid subscription to Feedly entail?
Perhaps the most coveted feature will be the article search, which allows users to search for articles within their feed. Besides the search feature that many users have been clamoring for, Feedly Pro also includes one-click integration with Evernote and Pocket. Premium support is also offered, because who likes waiting in line for assistance?
But, is Feedly Pro worth the cost?
This may sound like a cop out, but it depends.
If you happen to have hundreds, or even thousands, of feeds, then the search feature is a must-have. It just makes life easier. And, who has the time to go through hundreds of stories when there’s work to be done?Also, integrating Evernote and Pocket just makes sense for productivity purposes.
But, if you’re someone who occasionally uses the reader, it’s not really worth the cost. It’s not like Feedly is concluding its free service.
The only other scenario where it makes sense to join Feedly Pro is if you want to kind of donate funds to the company. Feedly states that it will be “investing the funds into scaling up the feedly cloud infrastructure, developing new features and improving customer support”. Even if you don’t think that you’ll use Feedly Pro all that much, you could view joining it as an investment-like opportunity. It’s just a suggestion.
Are you interested in paying for a news reader? And, do you think that the Feedly Pro features will be useful tools that worth a monthly/annual subscription?
