FreshRSS vs Tiny Tiny RSS
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
Tiny Tiny RSS
Web-based news feed reader and aggregator
| Feature | FreshRSS | Tiny Tiny RSS |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 16,126 | ★ 3,000 |
| First released | 2013 | 2005 |
| Replaces | Feedly, Inoreader, Google Reader | Feedly, Google Reader |
What are FreshRSS and Tiny Tiny RSS?
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
Tiny Tiny RSS
Tiny Tiny RSS is a free and open-source web-based news feed reader and aggregator with powerful filtering and plugins. It targets power users who want a highly configurable RSS reader. It is deployed via Docker.
- Powerful filtering rules
- Plugin ecosystem
- Multi-user support
- Mobile app available
FreshRSS vs Tiny Tiny RSS: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for FreshRSS versus GPL-3.0 for Tiny Tiny RSS. Tiny Tiny RSS is the more established project (first released 2005), while FreshRSS arrived in 2013. FreshRSS has the considerably larger community, at 16,126 GitHub stars versus 3,000.
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 Tiny Tiny RSS if…
- Highly configurable
- Mature and stable
- Strong filtering
Watch out for
- Dated interface
- Setup is opinionated
Frequently asked questions
Is FreshRSS or Tiny Tiny RSS better?
FreshRSS is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Tiny Tiny RSS if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are FreshRSS and Tiny Tiny RSS free and open-source?
Yes. FreshRSS is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Tiny Tiny RSS under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run FreshRSS and Tiny Tiny RSS with Docker?
FreshRSS: yes. Tiny Tiny RSS: yes.