PrivateBin vs Snippet Box
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted pastebins & snippets options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
PrivateBin
Minimalist pastebin with zero-knowledge encryption
VS
Snippet Box
Self-hosted app for organizing your code snippets
| Feature | PrivateBin | Snippet Box |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Pastebins & Snippets | Pastebins & Snippets |
| License | Zlib | MIT |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,509 | ★ 1,091 |
| First released | 2012 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Pastebin.com | GitHub Gist, Pastebin.com |
Why pick each one
Choose PrivateBin if…
- Released under the Zlib license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 8.5k GitHub stars
Choose Snippet Box if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.1k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is PrivateBin or Snippet Box better?
Neither is universally better. PrivateBin has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are PrivateBin and Snippet Box free and open-source?
Yes. PrivateBin is licensed under Zlib and Snippet Box under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run PrivateBin and Snippet Box with Docker?
PrivateBin: yes. Snippet Box: yes.