QuiteRSS vs yarr
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted rss & news readers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
yarr
Yet another RSS reader as a single binary
| Feature | QuiteRSS | yarr |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 14 · At risk | 89 · Excellent |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | C++ | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary | binary, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,090 | ★ 4,049 |
| First released | 2012 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Feedly | Feedly, Google Reader |
What are QuiteRSS and yarr?
QuiteRSS
QuiteRSS is a free and open-source news aggregator for RSS and Atom feeds. It is cross-platform, includes an ad blocker, and offers a familiar three-pane reading interface.
- Three-pane reading layout
- Built-in ad blocker
- Cross-platform Qt app
yarr
yarr is a minimal, self-contained RSS and Atom feed aggregator that runs as a single binary with an embedded web UI. It targets users wanting the simplest possible feed reader. It is deployed as a binary or via Docker.
- Single self-contained binary
- Embedded web interface
- SQLite storage
- Cross-platform
QuiteRSS vs yarr: key differences
QuiteRSS is written in C++, while yarr is built with Go. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for QuiteRSS versus MIT for yarr. Yarr is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for QuiteRSS. QuiteRSS is the more established project (first released 2012), while yarr arrived in 2020. Yarr has the considerably larger community, at 4,049 GitHub stars versus 1,090. Yarr lists first-class Docker deployment; QuiteRSS does not.
Why pick each one
Choose QuiteRSS if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in C++
Choose yarr if…
- Extremely simple to run
- Tiny footprint
- No dependencies
Watch out for
- Single-user only
- Minimal feature set
Frequently asked questions
Is QuiteRSS or yarr better?
Neither is universally better. yarr has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are QuiteRSS and yarr free and open-source?
Yes. QuiteRSS is licensed under GPL-3.0 and yarr under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run QuiteRSS and yarr with Docker?
QuiteRSS: check the project docs for container support. yarr: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, QuiteRSS or yarr?
yarr has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for QuiteRSS. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.