Miniflux vs RSSHub
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
RSSHub
Generate RSS feeds for sites that lack them
| Feature | Miniflux | RSSHub |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 93 · Excellent | 100 · Excellent |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,729 | ★ 46,308 |
| First released | 2014 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Feedly, Inoreader | Feedly |
What are Miniflux and RSSHub?
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
RSSHub
RSSHub is an extensible feed generator that creates RSS feeds for thousands of websites and services that do not provide one. It targets users who want feeds from feedless sites. It is deployed via Docker.
- Feeds for thousands of sources
- Hundreds of community routes
- Pairs with any RSS reader
- Highly extensible
Miniflux vs RSSHub: key differences
Miniflux is written in Go, while RSSHub is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Miniflux versus MIT for RSSHub. Miniflux is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for RSSHub. Miniflux is the more established project (first released 2014), while RSSHub arrived in 2018. RSSHub has the considerably larger community, at 46,308 GitHub stars versus 9,729.
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 RSSHub if…
- Feeds from feedless sites
- Huge route catalog
- Active community
Watch out for
- Some routes break over time
- Not a reader itself
Frequently asked questions
Is Miniflux or RSSHub better?
Neither is universally better. RSSHub has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Miniflux and RSSHub free and open-source?
Yes. Miniflux is licensed under Apache-2.0 and RSSHub under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Miniflux and RSSHub with Docker?
Miniflux: yes. RSSHub: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Miniflux or RSSHub?
Miniflux has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for RSSHub. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.