Kill the Newsletter vs Feedbin
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted rss & news readers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Feedbin
Nice, simple, open-source RSS reader
| Feature | Kill the Newsletter | Feedbin |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 87 · Excellent | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,105 | ★ 3,778 |
| First released | 2020 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Feedly | Feedly, Google Reader |
What are Kill the Newsletter and Feedbin?
Kill the Newsletter
Kill the Newsletter is a self-hostable service that gives you an email address whose incoming messages are turned into an RSS feed. It lets you read email newsletters in your feed reader instead of your inbox.
- Newsletters to RSS
- Disposable feed addresses
- Self-contained mail handling
- Lightweight
Feedbin
Feedbin is a web-based RSS reader that is also offered as a hosted service, with the full source available for self-hosting. It supports newsletters, podcasts, and a clean reading interface.
- Polished reading experience
- Newsletter and podcast support
- Full API for clients
Kill the Newsletter vs Feedbin: key differences
Kill the Newsletter is written in TypeScript, while Feedbin is built with Ruby. Kill the Newsletter is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Feedbin. Feedbin is the more established project (first released 2013), while Kill the Newsletter arrived in 2020.
Why pick each one
Choose Kill the Newsletter if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Watch out for
- Needs inbound mail config
- Per-newsletter feed setup
Choose Feedbin if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in Ruby
Frequently asked questions
Is Kill the Newsletter or Feedbin better?
Neither is universally better. Feedbin has the larger community, while Kill the Newsletter is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Kill the Newsletter and Feedbin free and open-source?
Yes. Kill the Newsletter is licensed under MIT and Feedbin under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kill the Newsletter and Feedbin with Docker?
Kill the Newsletter: yes. Feedbin: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Kill the Newsletter or Feedbin?
Kill the Newsletter has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Feedbin. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.