Bookmarks Manager vs Shiori
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted bookmarks & read-it-later options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Bookmarks Manager | Shiori |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 62 · Good | 81 · Excellent |
| Category | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2 | ★ 11,650 |
| First released | 2023 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Pinboard, Raindrop.io | Pocket, Raindrop.io |
What are Bookmarks Manager and Shiori?
Bookmarks Manager
Bookmarks Manager is a lightweight self-hosted bookmarking tool designed for speed and simplicity for a single user. It uses an SQLite backend and HTTP basic authentication, making it very easy to deploy and maintain.
- Single-user focused
- SQLite backend
- HTTP basic authentication
- Minimal setup
Shiori
Shiori is a simple bookmark manager that lets you save and organize web pages with offline archiving. It is distributed as a single portable binary with both a web UI and a CLI.
- Single portable binary
- Offline page archiving
- Web UI and CLI
Bookmarks Manager vs Shiori: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Bookmarks Manager versus MIT for Shiori. Bookmarks Manager is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Shiori. Shiori is the more established project (first released 2017), while Bookmarks Manager arrived in 2023. Shiori has the considerably larger community, at 11,650 GitHub stars versus 2.
Why pick each one
Choose Bookmarks Manager if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
Choose Shiori if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 11.7k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Bookmarks Manager or Shiori better?
Neither is universally better. Shiori has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Bookmarks Manager and Shiori free and open-source?
Yes. Bookmarks Manager is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Shiori under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bookmarks Manager and Shiori with Docker?
Bookmarks Manager: yes. Shiori: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Bookmarks Manager or Shiori?
Bookmarks Manager has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Shiori. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.