RSS-proxy vs selfoss
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 | selfoss |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 20 · At risk | 68 · Good |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | HTML |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,923 | ★ 2,470 |
| First released | 2019 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Feedly | Google Reader, Feedly |
What are RSS-proxy and selfoss?
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
selfoss
selfoss is a multipurpose RSS reader and aggregation web application. It pulls in content from feeds, Twitter, and other sources, presenting them in a clean unified stream.
- Unified content stream
- Mobile-friendly interface
- Plugin sources beyond RSS
RSS-proxy vs selfoss: key differences
RSS-proxy is written in TypeScript, while selfoss is built with HTML. Licensing differs — MIT for RSS-proxy versus GPL-3.0 for selfoss. Selfoss is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for RSS-proxy. Selfoss is the more established project (first released 2012), while RSS-proxy arrived in 2019.
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 selfoss if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.5k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is RSS-proxy or selfoss better?
selfoss is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider RSS-proxy if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are RSS-proxy and selfoss free and open-source?
Yes. RSS-proxy is licensed under MIT and selfoss under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run RSS-proxy and selfoss with Docker?
RSS-proxy: yes. selfoss: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, RSS-proxy or selfoss?
selfoss has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for RSS-proxy. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.