filite vs PrivateBin
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted pastebins & snippets options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
PrivateBin
Minimalist pastebin with zero-knowledge encryption
| Feature | filite | PrivateBin |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 6 · At risk | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | Pastebins & Snippets | Pastebins & Snippets |
| License | MIT | Zlib |
| Language | Rust | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 189 | ★ 8,610 |
| First released | 2019 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Imgur, Pastebin.com | Pastebin.com |
What are filite and PrivateBin?
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
PrivateBin
PrivateBin is a minimalist, open-source online pastebin where the server has zero knowledge of pasted data. Content is encrypted and decrypted in the browser, with options for expiration, password, and burn-after-reading.
- Zero-knowledge encryption
- Burn after reading
- Password protection
- Discussion and expiry options
filite vs PrivateBin: key differences
Filite is written in Rust, while PrivateBin is built with PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for filite versus Zlib for PrivateBin. Filite is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for PrivateBin. PrivateBin is the more established project (first released 2012), while filite arrived in 2019. PrivateBin has the considerably larger community, at 8,610 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 PrivateBin if…
- Released under the Zlib license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 8.6k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is filite or PrivateBin better?
Neither is universally better. PrivateBin has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are filite and PrivateBin free and open-source?
Yes. filite is licensed under MIT and PrivateBin under Zlib. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run filite and PrivateBin with Docker?
filite: yes. PrivateBin: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, filite or PrivateBin?
filite has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for PrivateBin. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.