FreshRSS vs NewsBlur
Pros and cons
Each app's own strengths and weaknesses, plus the specs where FreshRSS and NewsBlur differ.
FreshRSS
Pros
- Runs in one container
- Google Reader API for clients
- Built-in XPath web scraping
- Multi-user with OPML import
- Completely free
Cons
- Refresh needs a cron trigger
- Clients are third-party
- Stable branch misses fixes
NewsBlur
Pros
- Trains filters to hide stories
- Opens the original web page
- Official iOS, macOS, Android apps
- Full-text and saved searches
- Official phone apps
Cons
- Twelve containers in the stack
- No ARM images published
- Search needs Elasticsearch
FreshRSS vs NewsBlur: specs side by side
Every spec for both apps in one table. Values in bold are where one app has the edge, and amber ones are worth a second look before you install.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Price | Advantage: Free | Free + Paid |
| Licence | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Install options | Docker + Linux | Docker only |
| Clients | – | Advantage: iOS · macOS · Android |
| Web UI | Yes | Yes |
| Architecture | Advantage: x86 + ARM | Worth checking: x86 only |
| Containers | 1The app alone | Worth checking: 12Plus Node, imageproxy, nginx, HAProxy, PostgreSQL, Redis, Elasticsearch, DejaVu, MongoDB, Celery worker, MCP server |
| Database | SQLite | PostgreSQL |
| Runtime | PHP | Python / Node.js |
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