Feedbin vs RSS-Bridge
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted rss & news readers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Feedbin | RSS-Bridge |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 86 · Excellent | 83 · Excellent |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | MIT | Unlicense |
| Language | Ruby | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,778 | ★ 9,249 |
| First released | 2013 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Feedly, Google Reader | Feedly |
What are Feedbin and RSS-Bridge?
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
RSS-Bridge
RSS-Bridge is a PHP project capable of generating RSS and Atom feeds for websites that do not provide them. It includes hundreds of bridges for social networks, news sites, and more.
- Creates feeds for feedless sites
- Hundreds of built-in bridges
- No database required
Feedbin vs RSS-Bridge: key differences
Feedbin is written in Ruby, while RSS-Bridge is built with PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for Feedbin versus Unlicense for RSS-Bridge. RSS-Bridge is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Feedbin. RSS-Bridge has the considerably larger community, at 9,249 GitHub stars versus 3,778.
Why pick each one
Choose Feedbin if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in Ruby
Choose RSS-Bridge if…
- Released under the Unlicense license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9.2k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Feedbin or RSS-Bridge better?
RSS-Bridge 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 Feedbin and RSS-Bridge free and open-source?
Yes. Feedbin is licensed under MIT and RSS-Bridge under Unlicense. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Feedbin and RSS-Bridge with Docker?
Feedbin: yes. RSS-Bridge: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Feedbin or RSS-Bridge?
RSS-Bridge 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.