dpaste vs Snippet Box
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted pastebins & snippets options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | dpaste | Snippet Box |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 61 · Good | 17 · At risk |
| Category | Pastebins & Snippets | Pastebins & Snippets |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 641 | ★ 1,092 |
| First released | 2011 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Pastebin.com, GitHub Gist | GitHub Gist, Pastebin.com |
What are dpaste and Snippet Box?
dpaste
dpaste is an open-source pastebin application built with Django for sharing code and text snippets. It offers syntax highlighting, snippet expiration, and a simple API for posting from scripts.
- Django-based platform
- Syntax highlighting
- Snippet expiration
- Scripting API
Snippet Box
Snippet Box is a self-hosted application for organizing and searching your personal collection of code snippets. It offers syntax highlighting, tagging, and a clean interface for reusing saved code.
- Snippet organization
- Syntax highlighting
- Tag-based search
- SQLite storage
dpaste vs Snippet Box: key differences
Dpaste is written in Python, while Snippet Box is built with TypeScript. Snippet Box is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for dpaste. Dpaste is the more established project (first released 2011), while Snippet Box arrived in 2021.
Why pick each one
Choose dpaste if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
Choose Snippet Box if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.1k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is dpaste or Snippet Box better?
Neither is universally better. Snippet Box has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are dpaste and Snippet Box free and open-source?
Yes. dpaste is licensed under MIT and Snippet Box under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run dpaste and Snippet Box with Docker?
dpaste: yes. Snippet Box: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, dpaste or Snippet Box?
Snippet Box has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for dpaste. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.