RSS-proxy vs Stringer
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 | Stringer |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 20 · At risk | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,923 | ★ 4,133 |
| First released | 2019 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Feedly | Feedly, Google Reader |
What are RSS-proxy and Stringer?
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
Stringer
Stringer is a self-hosted, anti-social RSS reader with no external dependencies on third-party services. It targets users who want a private, no-frills feed reader. It is deployed via a Ruby stack or Docker.
- No third-party dependencies
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Simple unread-focused view
- Self-contained
RSS-proxy vs Stringer: key differences
RSS-proxy is written in TypeScript, while Stringer is built with Ruby. RSS-proxy is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Stringer. Stringer is the more established project (first released 2013), while RSS-proxy arrived in 2019. Stringer has the considerably larger community, at 4,133 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 Stringer if…
- Private and minimal
- Easy reading flow
- No external services
Watch out for
- Slow development
- Basic feature set
Frequently asked questions
Is RSS-proxy or Stringer better?
Neither is universally better. Stringer has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are RSS-proxy and Stringer free and open-source?
Yes. RSS-proxy is licensed under MIT and Stringer under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run RSS-proxy and Stringer with Docker?
RSS-proxy: yes. Stringer: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, RSS-proxy or Stringer?
RSS-proxy has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Stringer. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.