FreshRSS vs RSS Monster
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted rss & news readers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
FreshRSS
Free, self-hostable RSS feed aggregator
VS
RSS Monster
Easy to use web-based RSS aggregator and reader compatible with the
| Feature | FreshRSS | RSS Monster |
|---|---|---|
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 15,716 | ★ 479 |
| First released | 2013 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Feedly, Inoreader, Google Reader | — |
Why pick each one
Choose FreshRSS if…
- Lightweight and fast
- Works with many mobile apps
- Actively maintained
Choose RSS Monster if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in JavaScript
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is FreshRSS or RSS Monster better?
FreshRSS is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider RSS Monster if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are FreshRSS and RSS Monster free and open-source?
Yes. FreshRSS is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and RSS Monster under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run FreshRSS and RSS Monster with Docker?
FreshRSS: yes. RSS Monster: check the project docs for container support.