RSSBox vs rsspls
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted rss & news readers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
RSSBox
Generate RSS feeds for sites without native feeds
VS
rsspls
Generate RSS feeds for websites that lack them
| Feature | RSSBox | rsspls |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 77 · Good | 74 · Good |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Ruby | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 815 | ★ 413 |
| First released | 2016 | 2022 |
| Replaces | RSS-Bridge | RSS-Bridge |
What are RSSBox and rsspls?
RSSBox
RSSBox is a self-hosted service that creates RSS feeds for many popular websites and services that no longer offer their own. It supports platforms like YouTube, SoundCloud, and others through dedicated handlers.
- Feeds for many sites
- Simple web interface
- Single container deploy
- Frequently updated handlers
rsspls
rsspls is a small command-line tool that builds RSS feeds for websites that do not provide their own. It uses CSS selectors to extract items from web pages and outputs standard feeds you can serve and subscribe to.
- CSS-selector scraping
- Generates standard RSS
- Tiny footprint
- Simple TOML config
RSSBox vs rsspls: key differences
RSSBox is written in Ruby, while rsspls is built with Rust. Licensing differs — MIT for RSSBox versus Apache-2.0 for rsspls. Rsspls is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for RSSBox. RSSBox is the more established project (first released 2016), while rsspls arrived in 2022. RSSBox lists first-class Docker deployment; rsspls does not.
Why pick each one
Choose RSSBox if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Ruby
Watch out for
- Some sources need API keys
- Depends on site stability
Choose rsspls if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Watch out for
- No web interface
- Manual selector tuning
Frequently asked questions
Is RSSBox or rsspls better?
Neither is universally better. RSSBox has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are RSSBox and rsspls free and open-source?
Yes. RSSBox is licensed under MIT and rsspls under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run RSSBox and rsspls with Docker?
RSSBox: yes. rsspls: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, RSSBox or rsspls?
rsspls has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for RSSBox. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.