Newsboat vs QuiteRSS
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted rss & news readers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Newsboat | QuiteRSS |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 86 · Excellent | 14 · At risk |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C++ | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,913 | ★ 1,090 |
| First released | 2007 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Feedly | Feedly |
What are Newsboat and QuiteRSS?
Newsboat
Newsboat is an RSS and Atom feed reader for the text console. It is highly configurable, supports podcasts via podboat, and can synchronize with services like Tiny Tiny RSS and Nextcloud News.
- Highly configurable TUI
- Podcast support via podboat
- Syncs with TT-RSS and others
QuiteRSS
QuiteRSS is a free and open-source news aggregator for RSS and Atom feeds. It is cross-platform, includes an ad blocker, and offers a familiar three-pane reading interface.
- Three-pane reading layout
- Built-in ad blocker
- Cross-platform Qt app
Newsboat vs QuiteRSS: key differences
Both projects are written in C++. Licensing differs — MIT for Newsboat versus GPL-3.0 for QuiteRSS. Newsboat is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 128 MB for QuiteRSS. Newsboat is the more established project (first released 2007), while QuiteRSS arrived in 2012. Newsboat has the considerably larger community, at 3,913 GitHub stars versus 1,090.
Why pick each one
Choose Newsboat if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (3.9k GitHub stars)
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Choose QuiteRSS if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is Newsboat or QuiteRSS better?
Neither is universally better. Newsboat has the larger community, while QuiteRSS is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Newsboat and QuiteRSS free and open-source?
Yes. Newsboat is licensed under MIT and QuiteRSS under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Newsboat and QuiteRSS with Docker?
Newsboat: check the project docs for container support. QuiteRSS: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Newsboat or QuiteRSS?
Newsboat has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for QuiteRSS. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.