Espial vs Shaarli
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted bookmarks & read-it-later options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Shaarli
Personal, minimalist link-sharing bookmark app
| Feature | Espial | Shaarli |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 80 · Excellent | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Haskell | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 919 | ★ 3,899 |
| First released | 2019 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Pinboard, Pocket | Pocket, Delicious |
What are Espial and Shaarli?
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
Shaarli
Shaarli is a personal, minimalist, database-free bookmarking application that can also act as a microblog of links. It targets individuals wanting a lightweight link log. It is deployed via Docker or a PHP stack.
- No database, flat-file storage
- Public and private links
- Tagging and RSS feed
- Plugin support
Espial vs Shaarli: key differences
Espial is written in Haskell, while Shaarli is built with PHP. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Espial versus GPL-3.0 for Shaarli. Shaarli is the more established project (first released 2013), while Espial arrived in 2019. Shaarli has the considerably larger community, at 3,899 GitHub stars versus 919.
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 Shaarli if…
- Extremely lightweight
- Easy to back up
- Can be public or private
Watch out for
- Dated default theme
- Single-user only
Frequently asked questions
Is Espial or Shaarli better?
Shaarli is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Espial if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Espial and Shaarli free and open-source?
Yes. Espial is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Shaarli under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Espial and Shaarli with Docker?
Espial: yes. Shaarli: yes.