dpaste vs wastebin
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted pastebins & snippets options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
wastebin
Minimal pastebin server written in Rust
| Feature | dpaste | wastebin |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 61 · Good | 82 · Excellent |
| Category | Pastebins & Snippets | Pastebins & Snippets |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Python | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 641 | ★ 860 |
| First released | 2011 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Pastebin.com, GitHub Gist | Pastebin.com |
What are dpaste and wastebin?
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
wastebin
wastebin is a minimal, fast pastebin service backed by SQLite and written in Rust. It offers syntax highlighting, paste expiration, optional encryption, and a tiny resource footprint.
- Tiny resource usage
- SQLite storage
- Syntax highlighting
- Paste expiry and encryption
dpaste vs wastebin: key differences
Dpaste is written in Python, while wastebin is built with Rust. Wastebin 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 wastebin arrived in 2022.
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 wastebin if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Rust
Frequently asked questions
Is dpaste or wastebin better?
Neither is universally better. wastebin has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are dpaste and wastebin free and open-source?
Yes. dpaste is licensed under MIT and wastebin under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run dpaste and wastebin with Docker?
dpaste: yes. wastebin: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, dpaste or wastebin?
wastebin 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.