Selfoss Review, Pricing & Features

Selfoss is a free, open-source, self-hosted RSS reader and content aggregator. See its features, setup requirements, pricing (it is free), and alternatives.

Category
Productivity
Pricing
Free and open source (self-hosted), from Free
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
July 19, 2026
Founded
2011
AndroidAPIOpen SourceSelf-Hosted

Overview

Selfoss is a free, open-source, self-hosted RSS reader and content aggregation web application originally created by Tobias Zeising, with development dating back to its first commit in October 2011. It is written in PHP and designed to be lightweight and easy to deploy on almost any web host.

The project has since been maintained by community contributors, including Jan Tojnar, and is released under the GPL-3.0 license (or any later version), meaning it is free to use, modify, and self-host, including for commercial purposes.

Key Features

Selfoss aggregates RSS and Atom feeds alongside other content sources through an extensible plugin system, combining everything into one unified, mobile-friendly reading timeline. It supports MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite as database backends and allows feeds to be organized into categories or bulk-imported via OPML files.

A RESTful JSON API exposes Selfoss data to third-party clients and apps, and feed updates are triggered via a scheduled cron job or systemd timer rather than continuous background polling.

Pricing

Selfoss is entirely free and open source under the GPL-3.0 license, with no pricing tiers, subscriptions, or paid features. The only costs involved are for the hosting infrastructure the user chooses to run it on, such as a VPS, home server, or shared PHP hosting.

Key Features

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Completely free and open source under GPL-3.0
  • Very lightweight and easy to self-host on modest hardware
  • Extensible plugin system supports sources beyond standard RSS feeds
  • Mobile-friendly adaptive interface works well across devices
  • Full data ownership since everything runs on infrastructure the user controls

Cons

  • Requires self-hosting and basic server administration skills
  • Relies on a cron job or systemd timer for feed updates rather than continuous background refresh
  • No official company, support contracts, or SLA behind the project
  • Development pace depends on volunteer maintainers' available free time
  • No built-in hosted or cloud-managed version

Pricing

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Selfoss free to use?

Yes, Selfoss is free and open-source software released under the GPL-3.0 license, with no paid tiers or subscription fees.

Who created Selfoss?

Selfoss was created by developer Tobias Zeising, with its first public commit dating to October 2011, and it is now maintained by community contributors.

Do I need to self-host Selfoss?

Yes, Selfoss does not offer an official hosted cloud service; it must be installed on your own server, VPS, or web hosting.

What databases does Selfoss support?

Selfoss supports MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite as database backends.

Can Selfoss aggregate content beyond RSS feeds?

Yes, through its open plugin system, Selfoss can pull in content from social networks and other sources beyond standard RSS and Atom feeds.

How does Selfoss update feeds?

Selfoss updates feeds via a scheduled cron job or systemd timer that triggers an HTTP endpoint or command-line update, rather than continuous background polling.

Does Selfoss have a mobile app?

Selfoss itself provides an adaptive mobile-friendly web interface; dedicated third-party mobile apps have been built by the community using its RESTful JSON API.

What license is Selfoss released under?

Selfoss is released under the GNU General Public License version 3 (GPL-3.0), or any later version at the user's option.

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