Compare / Wallabag vs Karakeep
Wallabag vs Karakeep
Pick Wallabag if you want a classic Pocket/Instapaper later-queue. Pick Karakeep if you want bookmarks, notes, images, and highlights (the Readwise shape).
Facts checked 17 Oct 2026. License, language, and GitHub activity come from the catalog or the project's own repo. "Not in the catalog row" means the public catalog dump does not store that number.
Wallabag in the catalog Karakeep in the catalogStart on Railway
How they compare
| Wallabag | Karakeep | |
|---|---|---|
| License | MIT License (catalog) source | AGPL-3.0 (catalog) source |
| Language | PHP (catalog) | TypeScript (catalog) |
| GitHub activity | 13,017 stars in the catalog source | 29,749 stars in the catalog source |
| Self-host | PHP + a database. Classic later-queue. | Compose. Bookmarks, notes, images, AI tags. |
| Best for | Save an article, read it later. | Highlights and mixed bookmarks (Readwise-shaped). |
Self-hosting and resource needs
Both are on /stacks/wallabag-read. Wallabag is a PHP app plus a database. Karakeep is a TypeScript compose. Readeck is the smaller AGPL sibling. Linkwarden remains the Raindrop-shaped bookmark archive.
FAQ
- Why not Linkwarden?
- Linkwarden is Raindrop-shaped bookmarks (/replace/raindrop). This pair is Pocket/Readwise.
- Did Pocket shut down?
- Yes. Treat imports as a cutover if Mozilla still gives you an export.
- Are these free?
- Wallabag is MIT. Karakeep is AGPL-3.0. You pay hosting.
- How do I deploy it?
- Open /stacks/wallabag-read. Persist a database and an archive volume.
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