Feedbin vs selfoss
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted rss & news readers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Feedbin
Nice, simple, open-source RSS reader
VS
selfoss
Multipurpose RSS reader and web scraping aggregator
| Feature | Feedbin | selfoss |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 86 · Excellent | 68 · Good |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | HTML |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,778 | ★ 2,470 |
| First released | 2013 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Feedly, Google Reader | Google Reader, Feedly |
What are Feedbin and selfoss?
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
selfoss
selfoss is a multipurpose RSS reader and aggregation web application. It pulls in content from feeds, Twitter, and other sources, presenting them in a clean unified stream.
- Unified content stream
- Mobile-friendly interface
- Plugin sources beyond RSS
Feedbin vs selfoss: key differences
Feedbin is written in Ruby, while selfoss is built with HTML. Licensing differs — MIT for Feedbin versus GPL-3.0 for selfoss. Selfoss is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Feedbin.
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 selfoss if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.5k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Feedbin or selfoss better?
Neither is universally better. Feedbin has the larger community, while selfoss is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Feedbin and selfoss free and open-source?
Yes. Feedbin is licensed under MIT and selfoss under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Feedbin and selfoss with Docker?
Feedbin: yes. selfoss: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Feedbin or selfoss?
selfoss 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.