Nextcloud News 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.
| Feature | Nextcloud News | RSS-Bridge |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 82 · Excellent | 83 · Excellent |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Unlicense |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,004 | ★ 9,249 |
| First released | 2012 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Feedly, Google Reader | Feedly |
What are Nextcloud News and RSS-Bridge?
Nextcloud News
Nextcloud News is an RSS and Atom feed reader application that runs as a Nextcloud app. It offers a feed-reading API supported by numerous mobile and desktop client applications.
- Integrated with Nextcloud
- Open feed-reading API
- Many compatible apps
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
Nextcloud News vs RSS-Bridge: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Nextcloud News versus Unlicense for RSS-Bridge. RSS-Bridge is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Nextcloud News. Nextcloud News is the more established project (first released 2012), while RSS-Bridge arrived in 2014. RSS-Bridge has the considerably larger community, at 9,249 GitHub stars versus 1,004.
Why pick each one
Choose Nextcloud News if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
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 Nextcloud News or RSS-Bridge better?
RSS-Bridge is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Nextcloud News if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Nextcloud News and RSS-Bridge free and open-source?
Yes. Nextcloud News is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and RSS-Bridge under Unlicense. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Nextcloud News and RSS-Bridge with Docker?
Nextcloud News: yes. RSS-Bridge: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Nextcloud News or RSS-Bridge?
RSS-Bridge has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Nextcloud News. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.