Miniflux 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.
| Feature | Miniflux | Feedbin |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 93 · Excellent | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,729 | ★ 3,778 |
| First released | 2014 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Feedly, Inoreader | Feedly, Google Reader |
What are Miniflux and Feedbin?
Miniflux
Miniflux is a minimalist and opinionated feed reader focused on speed, simplicity, and a distraction-free reading experience. It targets users who want a no-nonsense RSS reader. It is deployed via Docker or a binary.
- Minimal distraction-free reading
- Single-binary deployment
- Compatible APIs for mobile apps
- Keyboard-driven interface
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
Miniflux vs Feedbin: key differences
Miniflux is written in Go, while Feedbin is built with Ruby. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Miniflux versus MIT for Feedbin. Miniflux is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Feedbin. Miniflux has the considerably larger community, at 9,729 GitHub stars versus 3,778.
Why pick each one
Choose Miniflux if…
- Very fast and lightweight
- Easy to deploy
- Clean reading experience
Watch out for
- Requires PostgreSQL
- Intentionally minimal features
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 Miniflux or Feedbin better?
Miniflux is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Feedbin if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Miniflux and Feedbin free and open-source?
Yes. Miniflux is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Feedbin under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Miniflux and Feedbin with Docker?
Miniflux: yes. Feedbin: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Miniflux or Feedbin?
Miniflux 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.