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.
Not the right match-up?
Shaarli
Personal, minimalist link-sharing bookmark app
VS
Omnivore
Read-it-later app with highlights and newsletter support
| Feature | Shaarli | Omnivore |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,888 | ★ 16,211 |
| First released | 2013 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Pocket, Delicious | Pocket, Instapaper |
Why pick each one
Choose Omnivore if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 16.2k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
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.