Reader by lemon24 vs Yarrharr
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 | Yarrharr |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 80 · Excellent | 69 · Good |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 557 | ★ 3 |
| First released | 2018 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Feedly, Google Reader | Feedly, Google Reader |
What are Reader by lemon24 and Yarrharr?
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
Yarrharr
Yarrharr is a self-hosted RSS and Atom feed reader written in Python and Django. It offers a clean, mobile-friendly interface for reading feeds organized into labels.
- Mobile-friendly reading
- Label-based organization
- Django-based backend
Reader by lemon24 vs Yarrharr: key differences
Both projects are written in Python. Licensing differs — MIT for Reader by lemon24 versus GPL-3.0 for Yarrharr. Reader by lemon24 is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Yarrharr. Yarrharr is the more established project (first released 2014), while Reader by lemon24 arrived in 2018. Reader by lemon24 has the considerably larger community, at 557 GitHub stars versus 3.
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 Yarrharr if…
- Released under the GPL-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 Yarrharr better?
Reader by lemon24 is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Yarrharr if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Reader by lemon24 and Yarrharr free and open-source?
Yes. Reader by lemon24 is licensed under MIT and Yarrharr under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Reader by lemon24 and Yarrharr with Docker?
Reader by lemon24: yes. Yarrharr: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Reader by lemon24 or Yarrharr?
Reader by lemon24 has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Yarrharr. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.