FreshRSS 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.
FreshRSS
Free, self-hostable RSS feed aggregator
VS
Newsboat
Terminal RSS and Atom feed reader for text consoles
| Feature | FreshRSS | Newsboat |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 95 · Excellent | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 16,126 | ★ 3,913 |
| First released | 2013 | 2007 |
| Replaces | Feedly, Inoreader, Google Reader | Feedly |
What are FreshRSS and Newsboat?
FreshRSS
FreshRSS is a free, self-hostable RSS and Atom feed aggregator that is fast, lightweight, and highly customizable. It targets users who want full control over their news reading. It is deployed via Docker or a PHP stack.
- Fast feed aggregation
- Multi-user support
- Mobile app API compatibility
- Extensions and themes
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
FreshRSS vs Newsboat: key differences
FreshRSS is written in PHP, while Newsboat is built with C++. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for FreshRSS versus MIT for Newsboat. Newsboat is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 256 MB for FreshRSS. Newsboat is the more established project (first released 2007), while FreshRSS arrived in 2013. FreshRSS has the considerably larger community, at 16,126 GitHub stars versus 3,913. FreshRSS lists first-class Docker deployment; Newsboat does not.
Why pick each one
Choose FreshRSS if…
- Lightweight and fast
- Works with many mobile apps
- Actively maintained
Watch out for
- Requires a database
- Interface is functional, not flashy
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 FreshRSS or Newsboat better?
FreshRSS is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Newsboat if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are FreshRSS and Newsboat free and open-source?
Yes. FreshRSS is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Newsboat under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run FreshRSS and Newsboat with Docker?
FreshRSS: yes. Newsboat: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, FreshRSS or Newsboat?
Newsboat has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for FreshRSS. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.