wallabag
Instapaper's readable archive, highlights and search, with the server bill moved to you.
Technical Profile & Specs
verified 2026-08-11
- Cost
- $0 / forever (Open Source)
- License
- MIT
- Hosting Model
- Local or hosted (your machine or their cloud)
- Platforms
- mobilewebself-hostedextensiondocker to self-host
- Installation
- Hosted wallabag.it subscription or a self-hosted Docker/Compose or PHP installation
- Operational Setup
- The free route needs Docker or a PHP web stack, a database, a domain and TLS, cron/queue work, backups, and periodic fixes when difficult publishers break content extraction.
- Where Your Data Lives
- Saved articles, tags, highlights, users, and reading state live in SQLite, MySQL/MariaDB, or PostgreSQL; downloaded article images and application files live in persistent server storage.
- The Catch / Trade-off
- wallabag's extraction and mobile experience are less consistently polished, and the free route makes the user maintain the server that Instapaper hides.
Replaces 1 paid app
up to $5.99/mo ($72/yr) in subscriptions
wallabag FAQ
Common questions
Is wallabag free and open source?+
wallabag is an open-source tool licensed under MIT that runs on local or hosted. Instapaper's readable archive, highlights and search, with the server bill moved to you.
What paid software does wallabag replace?+
wallabag serves as a free replacement for 1 paid SaaS application: Instapaper Premium, saving up to $5.99/month ($72/year) in subscription bills.
How do you install and set up wallabag?+
Installation: Hosted wallabag.it subscription or a self-hosted Docker/Compose or PHP installation. Setup notes: The free route needs Docker or a PHP web stack, a database, a domain and TLS, cron/queue work, backups, and periodic fixes when difficult publishers break content extraction.
What is the catch or trade-off with wallabag?+
wallabag's extraction and mobile experience are less consistently polished, and the free route makes the user maintain the server that Instapaper hides.