ArchiveBox vs omnom
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted bookmarks & read-it-later options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
ArchiveBox
Self-hosted web archiving from bookmarks and feeds
VS
omnom
Bookmarking with full-page snapshot archiving
| Feature | ArchiveBox | omnom |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 97 · Excellent | 70 · Good |
| Category | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 28,574 | ★ 665 |
| First released | 2017 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Pocket, Raindrop.io |
What are ArchiveBox and omnom?
ArchiveBox
ArchiveBox is a powerful self-hosted internet archiving tool that saves snapshots of webpages from URLs, bookmarks, and feeds. It targets users who want permanent, offline copies of pages. It is deployed via Docker.
- Saves HTML, PDF, screenshots and more
- Imports from many sources
- Self-hosted permanent archive
- Multiple extraction methods
omnom
omnom is a self-hosted bookmarking service that stores both the link and a full snapshot of the page at the time it was saved. This guarantees access to content even if the original page changes or disappears.
- Full-page snapshots
- Browser extension
- Tagging and search
- Multi-user support
ArchiveBox vs omnom: key differences
ArchiveBox is written in Python, while omnom is built with Go. Omnom is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for ArchiveBox. ArchiveBox is the more established project (first released 2017), while omnom arrived in 2020. ArchiveBox has the considerably larger community, at 28,574 GitHub stars versus 665.
Why pick each one
Choose ArchiveBox if…
- Thorough page preservation
- Imports from many sources
- Open formats
Watch out for
- Storage hungry
- Setup can be involved
Choose omnom if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Watch out for
- Snapshots use disk space
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is ArchiveBox or omnom better?
Neither is universally better. ArchiveBox has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are ArchiveBox and omnom free and open-source?
Yes. ArchiveBox is licensed under MIT and omnom under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ArchiveBox and omnom with Docker?
ArchiveBox: yes. omnom: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, ArchiveBox or omnom?
omnom has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for ArchiveBox. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.