Tool profile
Folo: cost, fit and limits
Folo is a feed reader that calls itself the AI RSS reader, built as an open-source project under GPL-3.0 with web and desktop clients, offering AI summaries, AI translations, text-to-speech and model selection on its paid plans.
What to know first
Folo meters almost everything by plan. Free holds 150 subscriptions and 3 AI summaries a day, Basic is $49.99 a year, Plus is $99.99 a year with unlimited summaries and translations, and Pro is $999.99 a year with all high-end models. The maker, country and privacy policy were not readable on the pages we opened, which matters for business buyers.
Folo at a glance
| Maker | Folo (the homepage footer reads 'Folo. All rights reserved'; source code at RSSNext/Folo under GPL-3.0), Not stated on the vendor pages |
|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes |
| Entry price | $4.17 per month, billed yearly at $49.99 (Basic) |
| API access | No |
| Category | Best AI RSS Readers in 2026, rank 3 of 13 |
| Website | folo.is |
Who Folo is best for
Readers of foreign-language sources
Basic gives 300 AI translations a day and Plus removes the limit, so someone following news in several languages can read in one language.
Listeners who want articles read aloud
Text-to-speech is metered at one a day on Free and Basic, which suits an occasional commute read but not a full audio queue.
Open-source minded readers
The homepage points to the RSSNext/Folo repository under GPL-3.0, so the client code can be inspected, unlike most hosted AI readers.
Folo plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Holds 150 feed subscriptions, 1 list, 1 inbox, 1 action, 3 AI summaries a day and 1 text-to-speech a day, with curated AI models only. |
| Basic | $4.17 per month, billed yearly at $49.99 | Raises limits to 1K subscriptions, 5 lists, 10 inboxes and 5 actions, with 30 AI summaries and 300 AI translations a day, after a free trial. |
| Plus | $8.33 per month, billed yearly at $99.99 | Holds 2.5K subscriptions, 15 lists, 20 inboxes and 10 actions, with unlimited AI summaries and translations and a larger RSSHub subscription allowance. |
| Pro | $83.33 per month, billed yearly at $999.99 | Holds 25K subscriptions, 100 lists, 200 inboxes and 100 actions, with unlimited summaries and translations and access to all high-end AI models. |
Checked November 2026.
What Folo does
- AI summaries
- Allowances climb from 3 a day on Free to 30 on Basic and unlimited on Plus and Pro. Folo shows the daily count in its plan table, so the cap is visible before paying.
- AI translations
- Basic includes 300 translations a day and Plus or Pro make them unlimited. The feature targets readers who follow sources in several languages and want translated text next to the original.
- AI model selection
- Curated models are used on Free and Basic, while Pro unlocks all high-end AI models. The pages name no providers, so a reader cannot tell from them which vendor handles their text.
- Lists, inboxes and actions
- Lists group subscriptions, inboxes collect newsletter-style content, and actions apply rules. Counts scale per plan from 1 each on Free to 100, 200 and 100 on Pro.
- RSSHub subscriptions
- Plans allow 30 RSSHub subscriptions on Basic, 200 on Plus and 500 on Pro, which pulls in sources such as Telegram, X, Bilibili and Weibo that publish no feed.
How Folo handles your data
The pricing page and homepage did not expose a readable privacy policy: the link on the homepage returned 404 on the paths we tried. The footer reads only that all rights are reserved by Folo, and the repository sits under RSSNext on GitHub. Hosting region, retention, whether article text goes to an outside model provider and whether customer content trains models were not stated on the pages we read, and no certifications are listed. Ask the maintainers before sending sensitive reading lists.
Where Folo falls short in practice
- Legal pages unreadable. No privacy policy or terms could be opened and no company or country was stated, so a business cannot do vendor due diligence from the pages we read.
- Steep jump to Pro. Plus is $99.99 a year while Pro is $999.99 a year, a tenfold step. The gap buys 25K subscriptions and all high-end models, which few individual readers need.
- Daily caps on Free and Basic. Text-to-speech stays at one a day on Free and Basic, and Free allows 3 summaries a day, so voice and summary use is tight below Plus.
Works with
Alternatives to Folo
Folo: common questions
Is Folo an open-source RSS reader?
The homepage links to the RSSNext/Folo repository and says the source is under GPL-3.0. That covers the code of the client, while the hosted service is sold on paid plans. The pages we read did not describe self-hosting the service, so check the repository for what can be run yourself.
How many AI summaries does Folo give?
Free allows 3 AI summaries a day, Basic allows 30, and Plus and Pro are listed as unlimited. Translations follow a similar pattern with 300 a day on Basic and unlimited above it. Text-to-speech is one a day on Free and Basic.
What does Folo cost per year?
Basic is $49.99 a year, shown as $4.17 a month, Plus is $99.99 a year, and Pro is $999.99 a year. Each paid plan starts with a free trial. The free plan has no time limit but caps subscriptions at 150.
Which AI models does Folo use?
The pricing page says curated AI models are used on Free and Basic and all high-end AI models on Pro. It does not name providers or models, so a reader who needs a specific model, or a stated data route, should ask the maintainers.
Does Folo state where it is based?
No. The homepage footer says only that all rights are reserved by Folo, and the privacy link returned 404 on the paths tried. The maker, country and hosting region are therefore not stated on the pages we read, which matters for buyers with residency rules.