Stringer vs yarr
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted rss & news readers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Stringer | yarr |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 86 · Excellent | 89 · Excellent |
| Category | RSS & News Readers | RSS & News Readers |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Ruby | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | binary, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,133 | ★ 4,049 |
| First released | 2013 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Feedly, Google Reader | Feedly, Google Reader |
What are Stringer and yarr?
Stringer
Stringer is a self-hosted, anti-social RSS reader with no external dependencies on third-party services. It targets users who want a private, no-frills feed reader. It is deployed via a Ruby stack or Docker.
- No third-party dependencies
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Simple unread-focused view
- Self-contained
yarr
yarr is a minimal, self-contained RSS and Atom feed aggregator that runs as a single binary with an embedded web UI. It targets users wanting the simplest possible feed reader. It is deployed as a binary or via Docker.
- Single self-contained binary
- Embedded web interface
- SQLite storage
- Cross-platform
Stringer vs yarr: key differences
Stringer is written in Ruby, while yarr is built with Go. Yarr is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Stringer. Stringer is the more established project (first released 2013), while yarr arrived in 2020.
Why pick each one
Choose Stringer if…
- Private and minimal
- Easy reading flow
- No external services
Watch out for
- Slow development
- Basic feature set
Choose yarr if…
- Extremely simple to run
- Tiny footprint
- No dependencies
Watch out for
- Single-user only
- Minimal feature set
Frequently asked questions
Is Stringer or yarr better?
Neither is universally better. Stringer has the larger community, while yarr is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Stringer and yarr free and open-source?
Yes. Stringer is licensed under MIT and yarr under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Stringer and yarr with Docker?
Stringer: yes. yarr: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Stringer or yarr?
yarr has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Stringer. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.