CommaFeed vs Kill the Newsletter
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted rss & news readers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
CommaFeed
Google Reader-inspired self-hosted RSS reader
VS
Kill the Newsletter
Convert email newsletters into RSS feeds
| Feature | CommaFeed | Kill the Newsletter |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Java | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,626 | ★ 3,105 |
| First released | 2013 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Feedly, Google Reader | Feedly |
What are CommaFeed and Kill the Newsletter?
CommaFeed
CommaFeed is a self-hosted RSS reader inspired by the look and feel of the discontinued Google Reader. It targets users who miss the classic Google Reader experience. It is deployed via Docker.
- Google Reader-style interface
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Multi-user support
- REST API
Kill the Newsletter
Kill the Newsletter is a self-hostable service that gives you an email address whose incoming messages are turned into an RSS feed. It lets you read email newsletters in your feed reader instead of your inbox.
- Newsletters to RSS
- Disposable feed addresses
- Self-contained mail handling
- Lightweight
CommaFeed vs Kill the Newsletter: key differences
CommaFeed is written in Java, while Kill the Newsletter is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for CommaFeed versus MIT for Kill the Newsletter. Kill the Newsletter is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for CommaFeed. CommaFeed is the more established project (first released 2013), while Kill the Newsletter arrived in 2020.
Why pick each one
Choose CommaFeed if…
- Familiar classic layout
- Easy to deploy
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- Java runtime overhead
- Fewer advanced features
Choose Kill the Newsletter if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Watch out for
- Needs inbound mail config
- Per-newsletter feed setup
Frequently asked questions
Is CommaFeed or Kill the Newsletter better?
CommaFeed is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Kill the Newsletter if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are CommaFeed and Kill the Newsletter free and open-source?
Yes. CommaFeed is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Kill the Newsletter under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run CommaFeed and Kill the Newsletter with Docker?
CommaFeed: yes. Kill the Newsletter: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, CommaFeed or Kill the Newsletter?
Kill the Newsletter has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for CommaFeed. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.