bin vs Pinnwand
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted pastebins & snippets options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
bin
Minimal, paste-only server written in Rust
VS
Pinnwand
Python pastebin with a command-line companion
| Feature | bin | Pinnwand |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 8 · At risk | 73 · Good |
| Category | Pastebins & Snippets | Pastebins & Snippets |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Rust | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 311 | ★ 228 |
| First released | 2020 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Pastebin.com | Pastebin.com |
What are bin and Pinnwand?
bin
bin is an extremely minimal pastebin server written in Rust with no database and no configuration. It keeps pastes in memory and is designed to be small, fast, and easy to deploy.
- No database needed
- Tiny memory footprint
- Single binary
- Curl-friendly
Pinnwand
Pinnwand is a straightforward pastebin written in Python that supports multi-file pastes and expiration. It pairs with the steck command-line tool for posting pastes directly from the terminal.
- Multi-file pastes
- Command-line client
- Expiration support
- Simple deployment
bin vs Pinnwand: key differences
Bin is written in Rust, while Pinnwand is built with Python. Licensing differs — MIT for bin versus BSD-3-Clause for Pinnwand. Bin is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Pinnwand. Pinnwand is the more established project (first released 2018), while bin arrived in 2020.
Why pick each one
Choose bin if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Rust
Choose Pinnwand if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is bin or Pinnwand better?
Neither is universally better. bin has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are bin and Pinnwand free and open-source?
Yes. bin is licensed under MIT and Pinnwand under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run bin and Pinnwand with Docker?
bin: yes. Pinnwand: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, bin or Pinnwand?
bin has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Pinnwand. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.