{"id":3184,"date":"2008-05-22T12:59:37","date_gmt":"2008-05-22T07:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/?p=3184"},"modified":"2026-10-15T13:51:05","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T08:21:05","slug":"bloglines-most-popular-web-rss-feed-reader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/05\/bloglines-most-popular-web-rss-feed-reader\/","title":{"rendered":"Bloglines: The Web RSS Reader That Beat Google Reader (and What Happened)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Bloglines<\/strong> was one of the first and most popular web-based RSS feed readers. In 2008 a Hitwise study showed it was still the most visited web feed reader in the US, ahead of the fast-growing Google Reader. This article looks at that study, what happened to Bloglines, and which RSS readers to use in its place today.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> Bloglines no longer exists. Ask.com announced it would close the service in 2010, MerchantCircle took it over, and it finally went offline around 2015. Google Reader, its big rival, closed in 2013. Good modern replacements include Feedly, Inoreader, NewsBlur and The Old Reader.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ad881e6ecc5c\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ad881e6ecc5c\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/05\/bloglines-most-popular-web-rss-feed-reader\/#Bloglines_vs_Google_Reader_in_2008\" >Bloglines vs Google Reader in 2008<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/05\/bloglines-most-popular-web-rss-feed-reader\/#What_our_own_readers_used\" >What our own readers used<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/05\/bloglines-most-popular-web-rss-feed-reader\/#What_happened_to_Bloglines\" >What happened to Bloglines<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/05\/bloglines-most-popular-web-rss-feed-reader\/#Best_Bloglines_alternatives_today\" >Best Bloglines alternatives today<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/05\/bloglines-most-popular-web-rss-feed-reader\/#FAQ\" >FAQ<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/05\/bloglines-most-popular-web-rss-feed-reader\/#Does_Bloglines_still_exist\" >Does Bloglines still exist?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/05\/bloglines-most-popular-web-rss-feed-reader\/#Can_I_recover_my_old_Bloglines_subscriptions\" >Can I recover my old Bloglines subscriptions?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/05\/bloglines-most-popular-web-rss-feed-reader\/#What_replaced_Google_Reader_and_Bloglines\" >What replaced Google Reader and Bloglines?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/05\/bloglines-most-popular-web-rss-feed-reader\/#Is_RSS_still_used_in_2026\" >Is RSS still used in 2026?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Bloglines_vs_Google_Reader_in_2008\"><\/span>Bloglines vs Google Reader in 2008<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Everyone was buzzing about Google Reader in 2008, but the old favourite Bloglines was still leading the charts. A Hitwise study of US visits found Bloglines was the most popular web-based feed reader, though Google Reader was quickly closing the gap.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-15089\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/Google-Reader-Bloglines.png\" alt=\"Google Reader vs Bloglines share of US visits chart from Hitwise\" width=\"500\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/Google-Reader-Bloglines.png 500w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/Google-Reader-Bloglines-150x90.png 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/Google-Reader-Bloglines-300x180.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Some interesting observations from the study:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Google Reader sent 61% more visits to news and media websites than Bloglines.<\/li>\n<li>Google Reader users leaned toward mainstream media, using the reader like the front page of a newspaper, while Bloglines was used more for following blogs.<\/li>\n<li>Bloglines users were more inclined toward photography websites, while Google Reader users visited more television websites.<\/li>\n<li>Bloglines users were 24% more likely to continue on to a retail (shopping and classifieds) website.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_our_own_readers_used\"><\/span>What our own readers used<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Our own numbers told a different story. When we analyzed our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/04\/15000-rss-feed-readers\/\">15,000 feed readers<\/a>, <strong>47% used Google Reader, while only 10% used Bloglines<\/strong>. FeedBurner&#8217;s Google figure actually combined Google Reader and iGoogle subscribers, and Hitwise tracked US visits only, so international readers may have behaved differently.<\/p>\n<p>At the time I personally used Google Reader and recommended it, but Bloglines was also great. If you could show only two RSS subscribe buttons, they should have been Google and Bloglines.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_happened_to_Bloglines\"><\/span>What happened to Bloglines<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Bloglines was founded in 2003 by Mark Fletcher and sold to Ask.com (part of IAC) in 2005. In 2010 Ask.com announced Bloglines would shut down on November 15, 2010, and we urged readers to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/09\/bloglines-shuts-down-export-rss-subscriptions\/\">export their Bloglines subscriptions<\/a>. MerchantCircle then announced it would take control of Bloglines and keep it running, but the service became unavailable in early 2015.<\/p>\n<p>Google Reader did not last either. Google closed it in July 2013, which pushed millions of readers to new services. We asked at the time whether <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/03\/google-reader-shuts-down-feedburner-next\/\">FeedBurner would be next<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Best_Bloglines_alternatives_today\"><\/span>Best Bloglines alternatives today<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>RSS is still the best way to follow many sites without an algorithm. These readers carry on what Bloglines started:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/feedly.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Feedly<\/a>:<\/strong> the most popular web feed reader, with free and paid plans.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.inoreader.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Inoreader<\/a>:<\/strong> a powerful reader with rules, filters and search.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/newsblur.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NewsBlur<\/a>:<\/strong> a reader that can show the original site layout and learn what you like.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/theoldreader.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Old Reader<\/a>:<\/strong> a simple reader built in the spirit of Google Reader.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/netnewswire.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NetNewsWire<\/a>:<\/strong> a free reader app for Mac and iPhone.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For a full comparison, see our guide to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/08\/popular-feed-readers\/\">best RSS readers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Does_Bloglines_still_exist\"><\/span>Does Bloglines still exist?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>No. Bloglines went offline around 2015 after years of uncertain ownership.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_I_recover_my_old_Bloglines_subscriptions\"><\/span>Can I recover my old Bloglines subscriptions?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Only if you exported them as an OPML file before it closed. An OPML file can be imported into most modern RSS readers.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_replaced_Google_Reader_and_Bloglines\"><\/span>What replaced Google Reader and Bloglines?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Feedly, Inoreader, NewsBlur and The Old Reader are popular web readers, and NetNewsWire is a good free app for Apple devices.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_RSS_still_used_in_2026\"><\/span>Is RSS still used in 2026?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Yes. Most blogs, news sites and podcasts still publish RSS feeds, and dedicated readers make them easy to follow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bloglines was one of the first and most popular web-based RSS feed readers. In 2008 a Hitwise study showed it&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":15089,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,3,1],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-3184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogging","category-google","category-tips","tag-wordpress"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3184"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67131,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3184\/revisions\/67131"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}