Newsboat vs Tiny Tiny RSS
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted rss & news readers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Tiny Tiny RSS
Web-based news feed reader and aggregator
| Feature | Newsboat | Tiny Tiny RSS |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C++ | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,913 | ★ 3,000 |
| First released | 2007 | 2005 |
| Replaces | Feedly | Feedly, Google Reader |
What are Newsboat and Tiny Tiny RSS?
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
Tiny Tiny RSS
Tiny Tiny RSS is a free and open-source web-based news feed reader and aggregator with powerful filtering and plugins. It targets power users who want a highly configurable RSS reader. It is deployed via Docker.
- Powerful filtering rules
- Plugin ecosystem
- Multi-user support
- Mobile app available
Newsboat vs Tiny Tiny RSS: key differences
Newsboat is written in C++, while Tiny Tiny RSS is built with PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for Newsboat versus GPL-3.0 for Tiny Tiny RSS. Newsboat is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Tiny Tiny RSS. Tiny Tiny RSS is the more established project (first released 2005), while Newsboat arrived in 2007. Tiny Tiny RSS 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 Tiny Tiny RSS if…
- Highly configurable
- Mature and stable
- Strong filtering
Watch out for
- Dated interface
- Setup is opinionated
Frequently asked questions
Is Newsboat or Tiny Tiny RSS better?
Neither is universally better. Newsboat has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Newsboat and Tiny Tiny RSS free and open-source?
Yes. Newsboat is licensed under MIT and Tiny Tiny RSS under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Newsboat and Tiny Tiny RSS with Docker?
Newsboat: check the project docs for container support. Tiny Tiny RSS: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Newsboat or Tiny Tiny RSS?
Newsboat has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Tiny Tiny RSS. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.