omnom vs Shaarli
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted bookmarks & read-it-later options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
omnom
Bookmarking with full-page snapshot archiving
VS
Shaarli
Personal, minimalist link-sharing bookmark app
| Feature | omnom | Shaarli |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 70 · Good | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 665 | ★ 3,899 |
| First released | 2020 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Pocket, Raindrop.io | Pocket, Delicious |
What are omnom and Shaarli?
omnom
omnom is a self-hosted bookmarking service that stores both the link and a full snapshot of the page at the time it was saved. This guarantees access to content even if the original page changes or disappears.
- Full-page snapshots
- Browser extension
- Tagging and search
- Multi-user support
Shaarli
Shaarli is a personal, minimalist, database-free bookmarking application that can also act as a microblog of links. It targets individuals wanting a lightweight link log. It is deployed via Docker or a PHP stack.
- No database, flat-file storage
- Public and private links
- Tagging and RSS feed
- Plugin support
omnom vs Shaarli: key differences
Omnom is written in Go, while Shaarli is built with PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for omnom versus GPL-3.0 for Shaarli. Shaarli is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for omnom. Shaarli is the more established project (first released 2013), while omnom arrived in 2020. Shaarli has the considerably larger community, at 3,899 GitHub stars versus 665.
Why pick each one
Choose omnom if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Watch out for
- Snapshots use disk space
- Smaller community
Choose Shaarli if…
- Extremely lightweight
- Easy to back up
- Can be public or private
Watch out for
- Dated default theme
- Single-user only
Frequently asked questions
Is omnom or Shaarli better?
Shaarli is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider omnom if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are omnom and Shaarli free and open-source?
Yes. omnom is licensed under MIT and Shaarli under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run omnom and Shaarli with Docker?
omnom: yes. Shaarli: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, omnom or Shaarli?
Shaarli has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for omnom. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.