ArchiveBox vs Readeck
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
Readeck
Save and read web content in a personal library
| Feature | ArchiveBox | Readeck |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 28,580 | ★ 1,100 |
| First released | 2017 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Pocket, Instapaper |
What are ArchiveBox and Readeck?
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
Readeck
Readeck is a self-hosted application that lets you save web articles and pages into a clean, searchable personal reading library. It targets readers who want a simple read-it-later tool. It is deployed via Docker or a binary.
- Clean article reading view
- Highlights and labels
- E-book export
- Lightweight single binary
ArchiveBox vs Readeck: key differences
ArchiveBox is written in Python, while Readeck is built with Go. Licensing differs — MIT for ArchiveBox versus AGPL-3.0 for Readeck. Readeck 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 Readeck arrived in 2023. ArchiveBox has the considerably larger community, at 28,580 GitHub stars versus 1,100.
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 Readeck if…
- Simple and lightweight
- Nice reading experience
- Easy to deploy
Watch out for
- Younger project
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is ArchiveBox or Readeck better?
Neither is universally better. ArchiveBox has the larger community, while Readeck is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are ArchiveBox and Readeck free and open-source?
Yes. ArchiveBox is licensed under MIT and Readeck under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ArchiveBox and Readeck with Docker?
ArchiveBox: yes. Readeck: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, ArchiveBox or Readeck?
Readeck 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.