Espial vs omnom
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted bookmarks & read-it-later options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
omnom
Bookmarking with full-page snapshot archiving
| Feature | Espial | omnom |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 80 · Excellent | 70 · Good |
| Category | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Haskell | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 919 | ★ 665 |
| First released | 2019 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Pinboard, Pocket | Pocket, Raindrop.io |
What are Espial and omnom?
Espial
Espial is an open-source, web-based bookmarking server that you can deploy yourself. It is inspired by Pinboard and supports tagging, private and public bookmarks, and import from Pinboard.
- Pinboard-style bookmarking
- Public and private bookmarks
- Pinboard import support
omnom
omnom is a self-hosted bookmarking service that stores both the link and a full snapshot of the page at the time it was saved. This guarantees access to content even if the original page changes or disappears.
- Full-page snapshots
- Browser extension
- Tagging and search
- Multi-user support
Espial vs omnom: key differences
Espial is written in Haskell, while omnom is built with Go. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Espial versus MIT for omnom. Espial is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for omnom.
Why pick each one
Choose Espial if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Haskell
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose omnom if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Watch out for
- Snapshots use disk space
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is Espial or omnom better?
Neither is universally better. Espial has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Espial and omnom free and open-source?
Yes. Espial is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and omnom under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Espial and omnom with Docker?
Espial: yes. omnom: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Espial or omnom?
Espial has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for omnom. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.