Best Reddit App in 2026: 7 Apps Compared

Reddit is the safe starting point, and for many people it is also the end point. It supports posting, comments, chat, communities, live discussion, and moderation tools in one place, and it gets new features first because it is made by Reddit itself. If a community uses a newer post format or a chat feature, the official app is the least likely to leave you stuck.

The trade-off is control. You can switch between card and compact views and use dark mode, but you cannot reshape the app the way the best third-party clients allow. Ads appear in the free version, and a paid Premium plan removes ads and adds extra items. If you read Reddit casually or you need every feature, start here before you pay for anything else.

Narwhal 2 is built for fast iPhone reading. Swipes handle voting, saving, and hiding, and you can see a link and its comments at the same time instead of jumping back and forth. Themes, fonts, and swipe actions can be changed in detail, so two people can end up with very different looking apps.

The catch is the price model. Because Reddit now charges for its data feed, Narwhal 2 needs a monthly subscription to work, so check the current price in the App Store before you commit. It is worth it for daily iPhone readers who value speed and a compact screen. Casual readers will probably be happier with the free official app.

Relay has long been praised for one simple interaction: swipe from a post into its comments and back again without losing your place. That sounds small, but it changes how a long browsing session feels, especially when you are working through a busy thread. The design is tidy, it uses screen space well, and it supports multiple accounts.

Like other surviving third-party clients, Relay now needs a subscription to cover data feed costs, so the old free version is not a fair guide to what you will pay today. Check the current subscription terms in Google Play. If you read on Android every day and you want a calmer, faster reader, Relay is a strong paid pick.

Infinity is the Android client for people who like to tune everything. You can build custom feeds, filter by keyword or content type, change themes and gestures, and download media for later. Its anonymous browsing mode also lets you read without linking every action to an account, with votes and saves kept on your device in that mode.

The open source code is a real plus for privacy-minded users, because anyone can inspect how it works. The downside is the same as with the other paid clients: account access now needs a subscription, and limited anonymous browsing may fail at times. If you want a free, open reader, RedReader below is the better first try. If you want the most control and you are willing to pay, Infinity earns its place.

Boost stands out for layout choice. You can pick card, compact, gallery, or slideshow views for each community, which matters when one community is mostly photos and another is mostly text. Filters by keyword, community, domain, or user help you cut out topics you do not want, and the tablet view shows posts and comments side by side.

Boost went through the same data pricing change as every other third-party client, so do not rely on old articles that call it free. Open its current store listing and read the subscription terms before you switch your daily reading to it. For Android users who read a mix of image-heavy and text-heavy communities, the per-community layouts are a genuine reason to choose it.

RedReader is the quiet option on this list, and that is its appeal. It is free and open source, with no ads and no tracking, and it focuses on reading well rather than looking fancy. You can cache posts and comments for offline reading, use swipe actions, run multiple accounts, and use a two-column view on a tablet or a large phone.

Accessibility is a clear strength, with screen reader support and multiple themes including a very dark mode for AMOLED screens. The design will feel plain next to Relay or Boost, and it does not try to match every new Reddit feature. If you want a free Android client that respects your attention and your privacy, RedReader is our pick.

Reddit Enhancement Suite, often called RES, is not a phone app, but it belongs here for anyone who reads Reddit mainly on a computer. It adds keyboard shortcuts, comment navigation, inline media previews, user tags, and account switching to the Reddit website. Once you learn the shortcuts, moving through long threads on a desktop feels much quicker.

Because it runs in the browser, it cannot help you on your phone, and a Reddit site change can break a feature until RES is updated. It is free, though, and it is a good companion to the official app: use the official app on your phone and RES on your desktop. If your Reddit time is mostly at a desk, try RES before you pay for a mobile client.