FreshRSS vs Winds
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
Winds
Archived
Beautiful open-source RSS and podcast application
| Feature | FreshRSS | Winds |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 95 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 16,126 | ★ 9,092 |
| First released | 2013 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Feedly, Inoreader, Google Reader | Feedly |
What are FreshRSS and Winds?
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
Winds
Winds is an open-source RSS reader and podcast application with a polished interface. It can be self-hosted and offers personalized recommendations powered by activity feeds.
- RSS and podcast reader
- Polished modern interface
- Recommendation feeds
FreshRSS vs Winds: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Winds's repository is archived and no longer developed, while FreshRSS is actively maintained. FreshRSS is written in PHP, while Winds is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for FreshRSS versus MIT for Winds. FreshRSS is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Winds. FreshRSS is the more established project (first released 2013), while Winds arrived in 2017.
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 Winds if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9.1k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is FreshRSS or Winds better?
FreshRSS is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Winds if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are FreshRSS and Winds free and open-source?
Yes. FreshRSS is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Winds under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run FreshRSS and Winds with Docker?
FreshRSS: yes. Winds: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, FreshRSS or Winds?
FreshRSS has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Winds. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.