Feedly officially launches premium Pro accounts

The RSS feed service that has valiantly stepped up to fill the void left by the demise of Google Reader is expanding its free service to offer a paid-for premium version which includes integration with Evernote.

The company initially toyed with a limited number (5,000) of pro accounts for a one-off $99 payment but after they sold out in a matter of minutes, Feedly has now officially launched a two-tier service.

Existing and new users will still be able to access the bulk of Feedly's features for free, but, starting this week, for a $5 per month or $45 per year fee, Feedly Pro users will be able to access customer support, search, and single-click Evernote and Pocket integration.

Feedly has also promised that further exclusive features will be added as the platform matures and feedback from its 30 million+ current users continues to be processed. The money raised from the subscriptions will be invested back into the platform to ensure that it becomes self-sustaining. In July, The Old Reader, another Google Reader alternative, was forced to shutter as its two-man developer team was no longer able to keep up with its maintenance and building while holding down their day jobs. Luckily, in the 11th hour, a mystery investor or investors stepped in and saved the service.