Miniflux vs Winds
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted rss & news readers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Miniflux
Minimalist and opinionated RSS feed reader
VS
Winds
Archived
Beautiful open-source RSS and podcast application
| Feature | Miniflux | Winds |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 93 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,729 | ★ 9,092 |
| First released | 2014 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Feedly, Inoreader | Feedly |
What are Miniflux and Winds?
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
Winds
Winds is an open-source RSS reader and podcast application with a polished interface. It can be self-hosted and offers personalized recommendations powered by activity feeds.
- RSS and podcast reader
- Polished modern interface
- Recommendation feeds
Miniflux vs Winds: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Winds's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Miniflux is actively maintained. Miniflux is written in Go, while Winds is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Miniflux versus MIT for Winds. Miniflux is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Winds. Miniflux is the more established project (first released 2014), while Winds arrived in 2017.
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 Winds if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9.1k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Miniflux or Winds better?
Miniflux is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Winds if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Miniflux and Winds free and open-source?
Yes. Miniflux is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Winds under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Miniflux and Winds with Docker?
Miniflux: yes. Winds: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Miniflux or Winds?
Miniflux has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Winds. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.