Shaarli vs Omnivore
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted bookmarks & read-it-later options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Shaarli
Personal, minimalist link-sharing bookmark app
VS
Omnivore
Read-it-later app with highlights and newsletter support
| Feature | Shaarli | Omnivore |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 95 · Excellent |
| Category | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,899 | ★ 16,257 |
| First released | 2013 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Pocket, Delicious | Pocket, Instapaper |
What are Shaarli and Omnivore?
Shaarli
Shaarli is a personal, minimalist, database-free bookmarking application that can also act as a microblog of links. It targets individuals wanting a lightweight link log. It is deployed via Docker or a PHP stack.
- No database, flat-file storage
- Public and private links
- Tagging and RSS feed
- Plugin support
Omnivore
Omnivore is an open-source read-it-later application that saves articles for distraction-free reading. It supports highlights, notes, full-text search, and forwarding newsletters to your library.
- Distraction-free reading
- Highlights and notes
- Newsletter inbox support
Shaarli vs Omnivore: key differences
Shaarli is written in PHP, while Omnivore is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Shaarli versus AGPL-3.0 for Omnivore. Shaarli is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Omnivore. Shaarli is the more established project (first released 2013), while Omnivore arrived in 2022. Omnivore has the considerably larger community, at 16,257 GitHub stars versus 3,899.
Why pick each one
Choose Shaarli if…
- Extremely lightweight
- Easy to back up
- Can be public or private
Watch out for
- Dated default theme
- Single-user only
Choose Omnivore if…
- Newsletter inbox support
- Highlights and notes
- Full-text search
Watch out for
- Complex microservice deployment
- Development has stalled
Frequently asked questions
Is Shaarli or Omnivore better?
Neither is universally better. Omnivore has the larger community, while Shaarli is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Shaarli and Omnivore free and open-source?
Yes. Shaarli is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Omnivore under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Shaarli and Omnivore with Docker?
Shaarli: yes. Omnivore: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Shaarli or Omnivore?
Shaarli has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Omnivore. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.