MicroBin vs PrivateBin
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted pastebins & snippets options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
MicroBin
Tiny, feature-rich pastebin and file-sharing service
VS
PrivateBin
Minimalist pastebin with zero-knowledge encryption
| Feature | MicroBin | PrivateBin |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Pastebins & Snippets | Pastebins & Snippets |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | Zlib |
| Language | Rust | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,500 | ★ 8,509 |
| First released | 2022 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Pastebin.com | Pastebin.com |
Why pick each one
Choose MicroBin if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (4.5k GitHub stars)
Choose PrivateBin if…
- Released under the Zlib license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 8.5k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is MicroBin or PrivateBin better?
Neither is universally better. PrivateBin has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are MicroBin and PrivateBin free and open-source?
Yes. MicroBin is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and PrivateBin under Zlib. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MicroBin and PrivateBin with Docker?
MicroBin: yes. PrivateBin: yes.