FreshRSS vs Coldsweat
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
Coldsweat
Web RSS aggregator and reader with a Fever API
| Feature | FreshRSS | Coldsweat |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 95 · Excellent | 5 · At risk |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | SCSS |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 16,126 | ★ 146 |
| First released | 2013 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Feedly, Inoreader, Google Reader | Google Reader, Feedly |
What are FreshRSS and Coldsweat?
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
Coldsweat
Coldsweat is a self-hosted, web-based RSS aggregator and reader designed as a Google Reader replacement. It implements the Fever API so that compatible mobile clients can connect.
- Fever API compatibility
- Works with mobile apps
- Lightweight aggregator
FreshRSS vs Coldsweat: key differences
FreshRSS is written in PHP, while Coldsweat is built with SCSS. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for FreshRSS versus MIT for Coldsweat. Coldsweat is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for FreshRSS. FreshRSS has the considerably larger community, at 16,126 GitHub stars versus 146.
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 Coldsweat if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in SCSS
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is FreshRSS or Coldsweat better?
FreshRSS is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Coldsweat if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are FreshRSS and Coldsweat free and open-source?
Yes. FreshRSS is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Coldsweat under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run FreshRSS and Coldsweat with Docker?
FreshRSS: yes. Coldsweat: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, FreshRSS or Coldsweat?
Coldsweat has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for FreshRSS. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.