Feeder vs Newsboat
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted rss & news readers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Feeder | Newsboat |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 87 · Excellent | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Kotlin | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | binary | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,045 | ★ 3,913 |
| First released | 2015 | 2007 |
| Replaces | Feedly | Feedly |
What are Feeder and Newsboat?
Feeder
Feeder is an open-source, lightweight RSS and Atom feed reader for Android that works fully offline. It can also synchronize with self-hosted backends and import OPML feed lists.
- Fully offline Android reader
- OPML import and export
- Optional backend sync
Newsboat
Newsboat is an RSS and Atom feed reader for the text console. It is highly configurable, supports podcasts via podboat, and can synchronize with services like Tiny Tiny RSS and Nextcloud News.
- Highly configurable TUI
- Podcast support via podboat
- Syncs with TT-RSS and others
Feeder vs Newsboat: key differences
Feeder is written in Kotlin, while Newsboat is built with C++. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Feeder versus MIT for Newsboat. Newsboat is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 64 MB for Feeder. Newsboat is the more established project (first released 2007), while Feeder arrived in 2015.
Why pick each one
Choose Feeder if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (3k GitHub stars)
- Written in Kotlin
Choose Newsboat if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (3.9k GitHub stars)
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Feeder or Newsboat better?
Neither is universally better. Newsboat has the larger community, while Feeder is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Feeder and Newsboat free and open-source?
Yes. Feeder is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Newsboat under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Feeder and Newsboat with Docker?
Feeder: check the project docs for container support. Newsboat: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Feeder or Newsboat?
Newsboat has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 64 MB for Feeder. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.