MicroBin vs Ghostbin
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted pastebins & snippets options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
MicroBin
Tiny, feature-rich pastebin and file-sharing service
VS
Ghostbin
Archived
Feature-rich pastebin engine behind the Ghostbin service
| Feature | MicroBin | Ghostbin |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 84 · Excellent | 7 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Pastebins & Snippets | Pastebins & Snippets |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Language | Rust | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,563 | ★ 188 |
| First released | 2022 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Pastebin.com | Pastebin.com, GitHub Gist |
What are MicroBin and Ghostbin?
MicroBin
MicroBin is a super tiny, configurable, self-contained pastebin and URL shortener written in Rust. Despite its small size it supports file uploads, encryption, QR codes, and expiring pastes.
- Single small binary
- File uploads and URL shortening
- Optional encryption
- QR code generation
Ghostbin
Ghostbin, whose engine is now called spectre, is a feature-rich, self-hosted pastebin offering syntax highlighting, paste expiration, and optional encryption. It is the open-source software that powered the public Ghostbin service.
- Syntax highlighting
- Optional encryption
- Paste expiration
- Self-hosted control
MicroBin vs Ghostbin: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Ghostbin's repository is archived and no longer developed, while MicroBin is actively maintained. MicroBin is written in Rust, while Ghostbin is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for MicroBin versus MIT for Ghostbin. Ghostbin is the more established project (first released 2014), while MicroBin arrived in 2022. MicroBin has the considerably larger community, at 4,563 GitHub stars versus 188.
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 (4.6k GitHub stars)
Choose Ghostbin if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is MicroBin or Ghostbin better?
MicroBin is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Ghostbin if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are MicroBin and Ghostbin free and open-source?
Yes. MicroBin is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Ghostbin under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MicroBin and Ghostbin with Docker?
MicroBin: yes. Ghostbin: yes.