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Comparison · Collab

FreshRSS vs Komga

A side-by-side editorial comparison of FreshRSS and Komga — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Shared themes:self-hosted

FreshRSS vs Komga: at a glance

FeatureFreshRSSKomga
SectorCollabCollab
Velocity score0.06.3
Sparks · 30d01
Top themesrss-reader, self-hosted, search, cli-automationself-hosted, frontend-rewrite, comics-manga, archive-formats
Last editorial update14d ago6d ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is FreshRSS?

FreshRSS keeps turning a reader into a queryable archive — and hardening the parts that touch the web.

Two major releases and their bug-fix follow-ups define this window. 1.28.0 added sorting and filtering by user-modified date with a matching search operator, sorting by article length, an advanced search form, an overview of dates with the most unread articles, and API-level sharing of feed visibility. 1.29.0 layered on sort-order preferences at global, category and feed level, feed-provided icons, and a purge CLI. Security work runs alongside throughout — cURL restricted to HTTP and HTTPS, reauthentication in sudo mode, Content-Security-Policy frame-ancestors, and compliance with HTTP 429 and 503 including Retry-After.

Read the full FreshRSS trajectory →

What is Komga?

Komga is rewriting its web UI in the open, shipping the beta alongside the old one.

Komga's release cadence is dominated by NextUI, a ground-up rewrite of the web interface that landed in beta with 1.26.0 and is served next to the existing UI at /next rather than replacing it. The three patch releases that followed within 48 hours were almost entirely NextUI shakedown work — scroll restoration, selection behavior, stylesheets failing to load under Tomcat. Underneath the interface work the server keeps widening format support, with rar5 handling in plain Java and solid rar4 archives earlier in the summer.

Read the full Komga trajectory →

FreshRSS vs Komga: editorial side-by-side

F
FreshRSS
COLLAB
0.0

FreshRSS keeps turning a reader into a queryable archive — and hardening the parts that touch the web.

◆ Current state

Two major releases and their bug-fix follow-ups define this window. 1.28.0 added sorting and filtering by user-modified date with a matching search operator, sorting by article length, an advanced search form, an overview of dates with the most unread articles, and API-level sharing of feed visibility. 1.29.0 layered on sort-order preferences at global, category and feed level, feed-provided icons, and a purge CLI. Security work runs alongside throughout — cURL restricted to HTTP and HTTPS, reauthentication in sudo mode, Content-Security-Policy frame-ancestors, and compliance with HTTP 429 and 503 including Retry-After.

◆ Where it's heading

The feature line is consistently about retrieval rather than reading: search operators, sort dimensions, date overviews and per-level preferences all treat the archive as a queryable dataset instead of an inbox to clear. In parallel, the CLI surface keeps growing — purge policies, SQLite export with retention — which points at self-hosters automating maintenance rather than clicking through settings. Security fixes are steady and specific to the fact that a feed reader fetches arbitrary remote content, which is what makes the cURL protocol restriction and CSP work necessary rather than optional. Releases pair a feature drop with a fast bug-fix follow-up every time.

◆ Prediction

Given the pattern of a major release followed within weeks by a patch, and the steady expansion of CLI commands, expect the next major to continue extending search and automation surfaces rather than reworking the reading experience.

K
Komga
COLLAB
6.3

Komga is rewriting its web UI in the open, shipping the beta alongside the old one.

◆ Current state

Komga's release cadence is dominated by NextUI, a ground-up rewrite of the web interface that landed in beta with 1.26.0 and is served next to the existing UI at /next rather than replacing it. The three patch releases that followed within 48 hours were almost entirely NextUI shakedown work — scroll restoration, selection behavior, stylesheets failing to load under Tomcat. Underneath the interface work the server keeps widening format support, with rar5 handling in plain Java and solid rar4 archives earlier in the summer.

◆ Where it's heading

The project is running a long, deliberately cautious frontend migration: both UIs ship in the same binary, the feature gap is tracked publicly in an issue, and users opt in by URL. That arrangement should persist across several minor versions before the old WebUI is retired. The parallel v2 referential API suggests the rewrite is also being used to revise the server contract rather than only restyle the client.

◆ Prediction

Near-term releases should keep closing the NextUI feature gap issue by issue, with patch releases landing within days of each other. The old WebUI is unlikely to be removed before NextUI reaches parity and browser refresh stops falling back to it.

Alternatives to FreshRSS and Komga

Other Collab products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either FreshRSS or Komga.

See all FreshRSS alternatives → · See all Komga alternatives →

Recent activity from FreshRSS and Komga

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 7d agoKomgaTranslation updates and a release tooling fix
  2. 7d agoKomgaNextUI beta fixes: scroll, selection, and loading states
  3. 9d agoKomgaNextUI beta: a parallel rewrite of the Komga web interface
  4. 9d agoKomgaFix missing NextUI stylesheets when served from Tomcat
  5. 1mo agoKomgaSolid RAR4 archive support
  6. 3mo agoFreshRSS1.29.1: plain-text feed import and scheduled SQLite export
  7. 3mo agoFreshRSS1.29.0 adds per-level sort preferences and a purge CLI
  8. 3mo agoKomgaFixes for EPUB parsing, Kobo, KOReader, and OPDS2
  9. 6mo agoFreshRSS1.28.1 fixes regressions from 1.28.0
  10. 7mo agoFreshRSS1.28.0: userdate search operator, advanced search form, sort by length
  11. 10mo agoFreshRSS1.27.1: security fixes, CSP frame-ancestors and Docker healthcheck
  12. 1y agoFreshRSS1.27.0 obeys Retry-After and adds sudo-mode reauthentication

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between FreshRSS and Komga?

Both compete on the same themes — self-hosted — within Collab. Komga is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is FreshRSS better than Komga?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Komga is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Collab products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to FreshRSS?

Top FreshRSS alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "FreshRSS alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/freshrss for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Komga?

Top Komga alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Komga alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/komga for the full list with editorial commentary on each.