Omnivore vs Shiori
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted bookmarks & read-it-later options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Omnivore
Read-it-later app with highlights and newsletter support
VS
Shiori
Simple bookmark manager built with Go
| Feature | Omnivore | Shiori |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 95 · Excellent | 81 · Excellent |
| Category | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 16,257 | ★ 11,650 |
| First released | 2022 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Pocket, Instapaper | Pocket, Raindrop.io |
What are Omnivore and Shiori?
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
Shiori
Shiori is a simple bookmark manager that lets you save and organize web pages with offline archiving. It is distributed as a single portable binary with both a web UI and a CLI.
- Single portable binary
- Offline page archiving
- Web UI and CLI
Omnivore vs Shiori: key differences
Omnivore is written in JavaScript, while Shiori is built with Go. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Omnivore versus MIT for Shiori. Shiori is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Omnivore. Shiori is the more established project (first released 2017), while Omnivore arrived in 2022.
Why pick each one
Choose Omnivore if…
- Newsletter inbox support
- Highlights and notes
- Full-text search
Watch out for
- Complex microservice deployment
- Development has stalled
Choose Shiori if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 11.7k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Omnivore or Shiori better?
Neither is universally better. Omnivore has the larger community, while Shiori is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Omnivore and Shiori free and open-source?
Yes. Omnivore is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Shiori under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Omnivore and Shiori with Docker?
Omnivore: yes. Shiori: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Omnivore or Shiori?
Shiori 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.