sprunge vs Stikked
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted pastebins & snippets options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | sprunge | Stikked |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 14 · At risk |
| Category | Pastebins & Snippets | Pastebins & Snippets |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Python | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 721 | ★ 989 |
| First released | 2010 | 2011 |
| Replaces | Pastebin.com, termbin | Pastebin.com |
What are sprunge and Stikked?
sprunge
sprunge is a minimalist, command-line oriented pastebin server designed for piping text directly from the terminal. It returns a short URL for any uploaded content with almost no configuration.
- Terminal pipe uploads
- No database required
- Short URL output
- Tiny footprint
Stikked
Stikked is an open-source PHP pastebin with a wide range of features including syntax highlighting, an API, themes, and spam protection. It has long been a popular choice for self-hosted code sharing.
- Syntax highlighting
- Themes and customization
- API access
- Spam protection
sprunge vs Stikked: key differences
Sprunge is written in Python, while Stikked is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — MIT for sprunge versus BSD-3-Clause for Stikked. Sprunge is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Stikked. Stikked lists first-class Docker deployment; sprunge does not.
Why pick each one
Choose sprunge if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Choose Stikked if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is sprunge or Stikked better?
Neither is universally better. Stikked has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are sprunge and Stikked free and open-source?
Yes. sprunge is licensed under MIT and Stikked under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run sprunge and Stikked with Docker?
sprunge: check the project docs for container support. Stikked: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, sprunge or Stikked?
sprunge has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Stikked. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.