ArchiveBox vs Buku
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted bookmarks & read-it-later options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
ArchiveBox
Self-hosted web archiving from bookmarks and feeds
VS
Buku
Command-line bookmark manager with tags
| Feature | ArchiveBox | Buku |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 28,079 | ★ 7,177 |
| First released | 2017 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Delicious |
Why pick each one
Choose ArchiveBox if…
- Thorough page preservation
- Imports from many sources
- Open formats
Frequently asked questions
Is ArchiveBox or Buku better?
Neither is universally better. ArchiveBox has the larger community, while Buku is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are ArchiveBox and Buku free and open-source?
Yes. ArchiveBox is licensed under MIT and Buku under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ArchiveBox and Buku with Docker?
ArchiveBox: yes. Buku: check the project docs for container support.