RSS-proxy vs Winds
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted rss & news readers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | RSS-proxy | Winds |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 20 · At risk | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,923 | ★ 9,092 |
| First released | 2019 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Feedly | Feedly |
What are RSS-proxy and Winds?
RSS-proxy
RSS-proxy is an open-source tool that generates RSS, Atom, or JSON feeds from websites that do not offer them, by analyzing page markup to detect article lists. It runs as a self-hosted service via Docker; its successor project is feedless.
- Creates feeds from any page
- JSON and Atom output
- Self-hosted aggregation
Winds
Winds is an open-source RSS reader and podcast application with a polished interface. It can be self-hosted and offers personalized recommendations powered by activity feeds.
- RSS and podcast reader
- Polished modern interface
- Recommendation feeds
RSS-proxy vs Winds: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Winds's repository is archived and no longer developed, while RSS-proxy is actively maintained. RSS-proxy is written in TypeScript, while Winds is built with JavaScript. RSS-proxy is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Winds. Winds is the more established project (first released 2017), while RSS-proxy arrived in 2019. Winds has the considerably larger community, at 9,092 GitHub stars versus 1,923.
Why pick each one
Choose RSS-proxy if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.9k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Choose Winds if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9.1k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is RSS-proxy or Winds better?
Neither is universally better. Winds has the larger community, while RSS-proxy is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are RSS-proxy and Winds free and open-source?
Yes. RSS-proxy is licensed under MIT and Winds under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run RSS-proxy and Winds with Docker?
RSS-proxy: yes. Winds: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, RSS-proxy or Winds?
RSS-proxy has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Winds. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.