Fusion vs yarr
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted rss & news readers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
yarr
Yet another RSS reader as a single binary
| Feature | Fusion | yarr |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 86 · Excellent | 89 · Excellent |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | binary, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,184 | ★ 4,049 |
| First released | 2024 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Feedly, Inoreader | Feedly, Google Reader |
What are Fusion and yarr?
Fusion
Fusion is a lightweight, self-hosting-friendly RSS reader with a fast reading workflow, unread tracking, bookmarks, and full-text search. It can extract full article content and deploys as a single binary or Docker container.
- Full-text article extraction
- Unread tracking and bookmarks
- Built-in search
- Single-binary or Docker
yarr
yarr is a minimal, self-contained RSS and Atom feed aggregator that runs as a single binary with an embedded web UI. It targets users wanting the simplest possible feed reader. It is deployed as a binary or via Docker.
- Single self-contained binary
- Embedded web interface
- SQLite storage
- Cross-platform
Fusion vs yarr: key differences
Fusion is written in TypeScript, while yarr is built with Go. Yarr is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Fusion. Yarr is the more established project (first released 2020), while Fusion arrived in 2024.
Why pick each one
Choose Fusion if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.2k GitHub stars)
Choose yarr if…
- Extremely simple to run
- Tiny footprint
- No dependencies
Watch out for
- Single-user only
- Minimal feature set
Frequently asked questions
Is Fusion or yarr better?
Neither is universally better. yarr has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Fusion and yarr free and open-source?
Yes. Fusion is licensed under MIT and yarr under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Fusion and yarr with Docker?
Fusion: yes. yarr: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Fusion or yarr?
yarr has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Fusion. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.