filite vs MicroBin
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted pastebins & snippets options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
MicroBin
Tiny, feature-rich pastebin and file-sharing service
| Feature | filite | MicroBin |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 6 · At risk | 84 · Excellent |
| Category | Pastebins & Snippets | Pastebins & Snippets |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Rust | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, bare-metal | docker, binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 189 | ★ 4,563 |
| First released | 2019 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Imgur, Pastebin.com | Pastebin.com |
What are filite and MicroBin?
filite
filite is a lightweight, self-hosted alternative to file sharing and pastebin services, written in Rust. It stores uploaded files, shortened links, and code pastes in a single SQLite database and serves them over a minimal HTTP interface.
- Files, links and pastes in one tool
- Single SQLite database
- Rust single-binary server
- Simple HTTP API
MicroBin
MicroBin is a super tiny, configurable, self-contained pastebin and URL shortener written in Rust. Despite its small size it supports file uploads, encryption, QR codes, and expiring pastes.
- Single small binary
- File uploads and URL shortening
- Optional encryption
- QR code generation
filite vs MicroBin: key differences
Both projects are written in Rust. Licensing differs — MIT for filite versus BSD-3-Clause for MicroBin. Filite is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for MicroBin. Filite is the more established project (first released 2019), while MicroBin arrived in 2022. MicroBin has the considerably larger community, at 4,563 GitHub stars versus 189.
Why pick each one
Choose filite if…
- Very low resource usage
- Combines several sharing tools
Watch out for
- Minimal web interface
- Limited recent activity
Choose MicroBin if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (4.6k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is filite or MicroBin better?
Neither is universally better. MicroBin has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are filite and MicroBin free and open-source?
Yes. filite is licensed under MIT and MicroBin under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run filite and MicroBin with Docker?
filite: yes. MicroBin: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, filite or MicroBin?
filite has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for MicroBin. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.