Newsboat 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.
RSS-Bridge
Generate RSS feeds for websites that lack them
| Feature | Newsboat | RSS-Bridge |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 86 · Excellent | 83 · Excellent |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | MIT | Unlicense |
| Language | C++ | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,913 | ★ 9,249 |
| First released | 2007 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Feedly | Feedly |
What are Newsboat and RSS-Bridge?
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
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
Newsboat vs RSS-Bridge: key differences
Newsboat is written in C++, while RSS-Bridge is built with PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for Newsboat versus Unlicense for RSS-Bridge. Newsboat is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 128 MB for RSS-Bridge. Newsboat is the more established project (first released 2007), while RSS-Bridge arrived in 2014. RSS-Bridge has the considerably larger community, at 9,249 GitHub stars versus 3,913. RSS-Bridge lists first-class Docker deployment; Newsboat does not.
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 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 Newsboat or RSS-Bridge better?
RSS-Bridge is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Newsboat if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Newsboat and RSS-Bridge free and open-source?
Yes. Newsboat is licensed under MIT and RSS-Bridge under Unlicense. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Newsboat and RSS-Bridge with Docker?
Newsboat: check the project docs for container support. RSS-Bridge: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Newsboat or RSS-Bridge?
Newsboat has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for RSS-Bridge. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.