sprunge vs wastebin
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted pastebins & snippets options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
wastebin
Minimal pastebin server written in Rust
| Feature | sprunge | wastebin |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 82 · Excellent |
| Category | Pastebins & Snippets | Pastebins & Snippets |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Python | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 721 | ★ 860 |
| First released | 2010 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Pastebin.com, termbin | Pastebin.com |
What are sprunge and wastebin?
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
wastebin
wastebin is a minimal, fast pastebin service backed by SQLite and written in Rust. It offers syntax highlighting, paste expiration, optional encryption, and a tiny resource footprint.
- Tiny resource usage
- SQLite storage
- Syntax highlighting
- Paste expiry and encryption
sprunge vs wastebin: key differences
Sprunge is written in Python, while wastebin is built with Rust. Sprunge is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for wastebin. Sprunge is the more established project (first released 2010), while wastebin arrived in 2022. Wastebin 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 wastebin if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Rust
Frequently asked questions
Is sprunge or wastebin better?
Neither is universally better. wastebin has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are sprunge and wastebin free and open-source?
Yes. sprunge is licensed under MIT and wastebin under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run sprunge and wastebin with Docker?
sprunge: check the project docs for container support. wastebin: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, sprunge or wastebin?
sprunge has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for wastebin. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.