NewsBlur 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.
NewsBlur
Personal news reader with training and sharing
VS
Feedbin
Nice, simple, open-source RSS reader
| Feature | NewsBlur | Feedbin |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Python | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,627 | ★ 3,778 |
| First released | 2009 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Feedly, Google Reader | Feedly, Google Reader |
What are NewsBlur and Feedbin?
NewsBlur
NewsBlur is a personal news reader that brings together feeds with intelligent training to highlight stories you care about. It targets readers who want a smart, social feed reader. It is deployed via Docker Compose.
- Story training and filtering
- Social sharing of stories
- Original site view
- Mobile apps
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
NewsBlur vs Feedbin: key differences
NewsBlur is written in Python, while Feedbin is built with Ruby. Feedbin is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for NewsBlur. NewsBlur is the more established project (first released 2009), while Feedbin arrived in 2013. NewsBlur has the considerably larger community, at 7,627 GitHub stars versus 3,778.
Why pick each one
Choose NewsBlur if…
- Smart story highlighting
- Good mobile apps
- Social features
Watch out for
- Complex multi-service stack
- Heavy to self-host
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 NewsBlur or Feedbin better?
Neither is universally better. NewsBlur has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are NewsBlur and Feedbin free and open-source?
Yes. NewsBlur is licensed under MIT and Feedbin under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run NewsBlur and Feedbin with Docker?
NewsBlur: yes. Feedbin: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, NewsBlur or Feedbin?
Feedbin has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for NewsBlur. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.