Linkding vs Shiori
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted bookmarks & read-it-later options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Linkding | Shiori |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 93 · Excellent | 81 · Excellent |
| Category | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,224 | ★ 11,650 |
| First released | 2019 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Pocket, Raindrop.io | Pocket, Raindrop.io |
What are Linkding and Shiori?
Linkding
Linkding is a minimal, fast self-hosted bookmark manager with tagging, full-text search, and a browser extension. It targets users who want a simple, no-frills bookmarking tool. It is deployed via Docker.
- Tag-based bookmark organization
- Full-text search
- Browser extension
- REST API
Shiori
Shiori is a simple bookmark manager that lets you save and organize web pages with offline archiving. It is distributed as a single portable binary with both a web UI and a CLI.
- Single portable binary
- Offline page archiving
- Web UI and CLI
Linkding vs Shiori: key differences
Linkding is written in Python, while Shiori is built with Go. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for Linkding versus MIT for Shiori. Shiori is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Linkding. Shiori is the more established project (first released 2017), while Linkding arrived in 2019.
Why pick each one
Choose Linkding if…
- Fast and minimal
- Easy to deploy
- Good extension
Watch out for
- Plain interface
- No automatic archiving
Choose Shiori if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 11.7k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Linkding or Shiori better?
Neither is universally better. Shiori has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Linkding and Shiori free and open-source?
Yes. Linkding is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Shiori under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Linkding and Shiori with Docker?
Linkding: yes. Shiori: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Linkding or Shiori?
Shiori has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Linkding. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.