Subscribing to blogs / RSS feeds via email is one of those questions I’ve run into a bunch of times over the years. I’ve ended up trying a handful of email subscription tools over the years to follow my favorite blogs (or even my own) and have seen a many tools come and go. I had been using two different RSS-to-email tools recently and was frustrated at my inability to find more, so I figure I’d at least document what I’ve found and then add to it as I find more or better ways to follow blogs via email.

1) Feedrabbit

Feedrabbit so far is probably my favorite. Email alerts for new blog posts are clean, show the category the post came from, and include a link to the main blog as well. There are paid options for this rss-to-email service but I’ve found the free does plenty for my needs. Alerts usually come within an hour or two of posts being published and include the title, date, and a snippet from the original post.

2) Blogtrottr

Blogtrottr has a name that’s a little confusing to spell but the service is solid. While there are paid plans, the free plan does everything I hoped simply and easily. That said, it does include ads which clutters up things quite a bit considering the actual reference to the new post is buried halfway down the email. I totally get the need to cover email / server costs with some ads, but it does feel a little over the top for a simple blog post alert email especially given there’s no real effort to push me toward a paid plan which makes me think that RSS-to-email services are tough to monetize with users paying directly.

3) FeedMail

FeedMail is a newer blog-to-email alert service, but I’ve been impressed. The timing hasn’t been quite as consistent as the first two but as you can see the email contents are clean, to the point, and include a the same snippet of the contents like some of the others do. All things considered, I think I’ll use this feed alert email service more in the future. FeedMail gives you 400 free credits and then charges a small fee to reload credits one those run out.

4) RSS by Email

RSS by Email is hands down the simplest and, honestly, easiest RSS-to-email service I’ve tried. The reason for the simplicity comes from the fact that there is no interface or login required. You simply send an email with the URL of the feed you want to follow via email to add@rss.email and a few seconds late you get a confirmation that you’re subscribed. If you want to unsubscribe, the address is unsubscribe@rssby.email (once again including the URL of the feed in the body of the email). It’s free, doesn’t have ads, and the easy of use makes it an RSS-to-email tool I plan to use more going forward.

By the way, I grabbed the screenshots for all of these emails with my new email screenshot generator tool. Even though this is a pretty short post, it made it a lot easier to put together.

More Thoughts & Such

How to Subscribe to Blogs / RSS Feeds via Email
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Put it On Paper
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An Ode to Awe
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Change Has to Be Sold
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Knowing When to Stop
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The Language of Uncertainty
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Solving…Problems
July 7, 2023   Read this post →

Who am I? Who do I want to be?
June 29, 2023   Read this post →

Somewhere Between Don & Steve
June 28, 2023   Read this post →