Pocket was fully hosted — sign up, save, read, done. wallabag is open-source read-it-later software you run yourself (or pay wallabag.it to host). Same core job — save web pages, read them cleanly later — opposite philosophies on who holds your data.
Pocket is no longer available. This table compares what Pocket offered with wallabag today and where PauseRead fits.
| Feature | Pocket (shut down) | wallabag | PauseRead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Mozilla-hosted (service ended July 2025) | Self-hosted (your server) or wallabag.it (~€11/year hosted) | Hosted — no server setup |
| Pocket import | N/A — Pocket is shut down | Built-in import from Pocket and other services (when you have export data) | One-click import from a saved Pocket HTML export |
| Reader view | Yes — Mozilla Readability-style extraction | Yes — extracts article content, strips clutter | Yes — server-side Readability extraction |
| Sync | Web, mobile apps, extensions (discontinued) | Web app plus iOS/Android apps and browser extensions; you maintain or trust your host | Web inbox; Chrome extension planned |
| Export | HTML export during the 2025 window only (now closed) | JSON, CSV, XML, EPUB, PDF, and more | JSON or Markdown export anytime |
| Price | Was free with optional Premium (~$45/year); service ended | Free self-hosted (plus server cost); wallabag.it about €11/year | Free tier (100 saves); Pro ~$4–5/mo for unlimited saves and full-text search |
wallabag gives you full data ownership: self-host for free (you pay for a VPS or home server) or use wallabag.it hosted service (about €11/year with a 14-day trial, per wallabag.org). You get reader view, tags, full-text search, annotations, RSS feeds, and broad export formats (JSON, CSV, EPUB, PDF, and more). Mobile apps and browser extensions exist but expect more DIY than Pocket ever required. Pocket's shutdown is exactly why some people choose self-hosting — no vendor can delete your library if it runs on your hardware.
PauseRead is the hosted middle path: no PHP stack, no VPS, but still export anytime and one-click Pocket HTML import. Choose wallabag if you want open-source code on your server and full control. Choose PauseRead if you want hosted read-later with Pocket migration built in — the lesson of Pocket's shutdown without the ops work.
Omnivore and other read-later projects have shut down or stalled since Pocket closed — hosted options with clear export matter more than ever.
Import your saved Pocket HTML into PauseRead, or start a fresh reading list — hosted, with full export when you need it.
wallabag is the most established open-source read-later app: active development, import tools, mobile apps, and a paid hosted option. It requires more setup than Pocket ever did, but you control the data and export formats.
Pocket needed zero infrastructure — polished mobile apps, one account, instant onboarding. wallabag trades that convenience for ownership. After Pocket's shutdown, that trade-off looks different for many people.
wallabag supports importing from Pocket (and Instapaper, Pinboard, and others) when you have export data. If you only have a Pocket HTML file from before November 2025, check wallabag's import docs for supported formats. PauseRead also accepts Pocket HTML export directly.
Pick PauseRead if you want hosted read-later today — no Docker, no VPS, no PHP maintenance — with Pocket import and export. Pick wallabag if self-hosting or open-source control is non-negotiable and you accept the ops overhead (or use wallabag.it hosting).