I built a self-hosted RSS reader with TTS + AI podcasts — here's how it stacks up against FreshRSS and Miniflux 🎧

A developer built Readaria, an AGPLv3-licensed self-hosted RSS reader that adds server-side text-to-speech, scheduled or on-demand AI-generated podcasts from followed feeds, and BYOK AI summaries and Q&A, positioning it against FreshRSS and Miniflux. The project ships as a one-command Docker Compose deployment with an installable PWA and a Readwise-inspired desktop reading layout, and the developer says the goal is turning a reading backlog into a listenable one for long commutes.

I'll be honest: I paid for Readwise for years and loved the reading experience. So when I started building my own reader, I borrowed its homework — the desktop layout uses Readwise-style typography and reading flow as the reference point. Then I got TTS and AI podcasts working, and quietly cancelled my subscription. Oops 😄 This is Readaria , an AGPLv3-licensed RSS reader. There's a hosted version, but this post is about the self-hosted one. Everything runs from a single docker compose up -d . | | Readaria | FreshRSS | Miniflux | |---|---|---|---| | TTS / listen | ✅ server-side, multi-provider | ❌ | ❌ | | AI podcast from feeds | ✅ scheduled or on-demand | ❌ | ❌ | | AI summaries / Q&A | ✅ BYOK | ❌ | ❌ | | Reading experience | Readwise-inspired desktop layout | classic web UI | minimal UI | | Mobile | installable PWA | PWA / third-party apps | third-party apps | | Self-host | one-command Docker | Docker | single binary / Docker | | License | AGPLv3 | AGPLv3 | Apache 2.0 | FreshRSS and Miniflux are excellent at what they do — this is not a takedown. Readaria is for a specific situation I kept hitting: my reading backlog had quietly become a listening backlog. My daily drive is 2–3 hours, and I wanted that time back — to catch up on news and on the authors I follow. Readwise and Instapaper are great at saving articles, but none of the tools I tried would turn followed authors' new posts into a playlist, let alone a podcast that discusses them. So I built it. If any of this sounds like you — the commute, the dog walk, the "I'll read it later" pile that mostly delivers guilt and eye strain — that's exactly the use case. Unexpected side effect: it genuinely helps with my ADHD. A queue I can listen to is a queue I actually finish. git clone https://github.com/Blacksheeppy123/readaria.git cd readaria cp .env.example .env set a database password and strong SECRET KEY / JWT SECRET KEY values docker compose up -d Prefer to try before self-hosting? https://demo.readaria.com https://demo.readaria.com has pre-generated podcasts and doesn't require signup to browse. Issues and PRs welcome. Things I'm chewing on: better podcast script control, more TTS providers, and an API surface so agent tooling can subscribe and listen on your behalf.