Reader by lemon24 vs Newspipe
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted rss & news readers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Reader by lemon24 | Newspipe |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 80 · Excellent | 0 · At risk |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 557 | ★ 7 |
| First released | 2018 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Feedly, Google Reader | Feedly, Google Reader |
What are Reader by lemon24 and Newspipe?
Reader by lemon24
reader is a Python feed reader library that can fetch, store, and manage RSS, Atom, and JSON feeds, and it ships with a basic self-hostable web app and CLI. It supports plugins, full-text search, and OPML import for building a personal feed reader.
- Feed reader library and CLI
- Bundled web application
- Full-text search
- OPML import and export
Newspipe
Newspipe is a web-based news aggregator that lets you follow RSS and Atom feeds in a clean interface. It supports per-user feed lists, full-text search, and email notifications.
- Multi-user feed aggregation
- Full-text search
- Email notifications
Reader by lemon24 vs Newspipe: key differences
Both projects are written in Python. Licensing differs — MIT for Reader by lemon24 versus AGPL-3.0 for Newspipe. Reader by lemon24 is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Newspipe. Newspipe is the more established project (first released 2010), while Reader by lemon24 arrived in 2018. Reader by lemon24 has the considerably larger community, at 557 GitHub stars versus 7.
Why pick each one
Choose Reader by lemon24 if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
Choose Newspipe if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Reader by lemon24 or Newspipe better?
Reader by lemon24 is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Newspipe if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Reader by lemon24 and Newspipe free and open-source?
Yes. Reader by lemon24 is licensed under MIT and Newspipe under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Reader by lemon24 and Newspipe with Docker?
Reader by lemon24: yes. Newspipe: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Reader by lemon24 or Newspipe?
Reader by lemon24 has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Newspipe. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.