Pastebin alternative for developers
Share code that shouldn't live forever. Compare VoidPaste with popular paste tools — without fake stats or features we don't ship.
Looking for a Pastebin alternative that defaults to ephemeral sharing? VoidPaste is a free hosted paste service at voidpaste.com: expiration, burn-after-reading, password and private modes, optional client-side encryption, a REST API, and a Go CLI. No paid plans.
Create a paste · Security model · API · CLI · Private & encrypted pastes · vs Pastebin · vs NullPaste · vs PrivateBin · vs Hastebin · vs Rentry · vs GitHub Gist · vs Ghostbin
Quick comparison
Snapshot of public positioning as of research in 2026. Operator policies and pricing change — verify on each site before you commit sensitive workflows.
| Tool | Positioning | Free / paid | Privacy model | API / CLI | Expiration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VoidPaste | Hosted ephemeral paste for developers — expire, burn, privacy modes, optional client encryption, REST API + Go CLI. | Free; no paid plans. 1 MB per paste; rate limits as abuse controls. | Unlisted default; public / private / password; optional AES-256-GCM in the browser (ciphertext only on server). | REST /api/v1 with scoped keys; Go CLI; raw + download aliases. | Presets (10m–1M or never), max views, burn-after-reading — enforced by the API. |
| NullPaste | Privacy-first anonymous pastebin — no accounts/tracking emphasis; similar ephemeral toolkit. | Free hosted service; public docs cite a 1 MB limit and per-IP rate limits. | Password (argon2id), burn, optional client AES-256-GCM with key in URL fragment; delete tokens for API pastes. | HTTP API without API keys (raw body create); expiry/burn/password via headers; no account-scoped keys. | Header expiry presets (e.g. 10m–1w or never); burn-after-read with explicit confirm header. |
| Pastebin | Category incumbent since 2002 — syntax highlighting, public discovery culture, large third-party tooling ecosystem. | Free tier with ads/limits historically; PRO membership for higher limits and features (pricing changes over time). | Public / unlisted / private (account for private). Server-side storage; not client zero-knowledge by default. | Official Developers API (dev key via membership); many community CLIs/extensions. | Create-time expire options via web and API (e.g. minutes to months, or never). |
| Hastebin / haste-server | Minimal paste UX; open-source haste-server for self-hosting. Public hastebin.com availability has varied. | Self-host free; public instances depend on whoever runs them. | Typically URL secrecy only — little access-control or client encryption in the classic design. | Simple HTTP POST create on haste-server; ecosystem of forks and wrappers. | Often short-lived or instance-configured; not a rich privacy product. |
| PrivateBin | Open-source self-hosted pastebin with browser AES-256-GCM so the server stores ciphertext only. | Free software; you (or a public instance operator) pay hosting. No VoidPaste-style SaaS billing. | Client encryption by design; optional password; burn-after-reading. You still trust the instance’s JavaScript. | Instance HTTP API / tooling varies; primarily a self-hosted web app, not a single global SaaS API. | Configurable expiry including forever and burn-after-reading. |
| Rentry | Markdown paste/publishing with preview, custom URLs, and edit codes — closer to a notepad than ephemeral logs. | Free core product; optional membership/donations. Claims permanent retention unless deleted or rule-breaking. | Public markdown pages; edit/modify codes for control. Not positioned as zero-knowledge encryption. | API available; community CLI (e.g. radude/rentry) for command-line paste. | Kept indefinitely by default — opposite of burn/short TTL workflows. |
| GitHub Gist | Versioned snippets tied to GitHub identity — fork, comment, clone; durable by design. | Included with GitHub accounts (subject to GitHub’s plans and rate limits). | Public or secret gists. Secret = unlisted URL secrecy, not true ACL privacy; content lives on GitHub. | First-class REST API and gh CLI; deep GitHub integration. | No first-class burn/TTL — gists are meant to persist and version. |
| Ghostbin | Historically a privacy-oriented pastebin with expiration options; public availability has been unreliable. | Was free when online; treat current status as unknown — verify before relying on it. | Historically emphasized temporary/private sharing; not a substitute for audited self-host ZK. | Historically had API-ish usage; do not depend on it for production tooling today. | Expiration was a selling point when the service was healthy. |
What VoidPaste actually does
- Anonymous create (no account required for basic pastes)
- Visibility: public, unlisted (default), private (auth), password (argon2id)
- Optional client-side AES-256-GCM encryption; fragment key never sent to the server
- Expiration presets, max views, burn-after-reading (API-enforced)
- Syntax highlighting (Monaco), raw and download endpoints
- REST API with scoped keys + Go CLI against voidpaste.com
- Accounts: history, collections, versions, API keys
- Free product — 1 MB paste limit; no paid plans
What we do not claim
- Not a formal zero-knowledge messaging app — you still trust our served JavaScript for client encryption
- Not a compliance certification (SOC 2, HIPAA, etc.)
- Unlisted is secrecy-by-URL, not an access-control list
- Secret detection is best-effort, not a guarantee
NullPaste
NullPaste positions as privacy-first anonymous pasting with expiry, burn, passwords, and optional browser encryption — and documents a curl-friendly API that needs no API key. VoidPaste overlaps heavily on ephemeral privacy, but adds account features (history, private pastes, collections, versions) and scoped API keys plus a Go CLI aimed at scripts and CI. Prefer NullPaste if you want zero accounts and delete tokens; prefer VoidPaste if you want owner-private pastes and key-scoped automation against a single production origin. Deep dive: VoidPaste vs NullPaste.
Pastebin.com
Pastebin is the long-running category default: huge mindshare, public pastes, and a large tool ecosystem. Free use historically includes ads and plan limits; PRO unlocks higher ceilings. Private pastes need an account; content is server-side, not client-encrypted by default. Choose Pastebin for discoverability and legacy integrations. Choose VoidPaste when you want short TTL, burn-after-reading, optional client encryption, and a free product without a paid upsell. Deep dive: VoidPaste vs Pastebin.
Hastebin / haste-server
Classic Haste is a minimal paste UX; haste-server is the usual self-host path. Public hastebin.com has had availability and ownership churn — treat hosted URLs as unreliable for production. Privacy is mostly “know the URL.” VoidPaste is a maintained hosted product with explicit privacy modes and burn/expiry; haste-server wins if you want the smallest self-hosted paste daemon and accept operating it yourself. Deep dive: VoidPaste vs Hastebin.
PrivateBin
PrivateBin is open-source self-hosted paste with AES-256-GCM in the browser so operators store ciphertext. Excellent when you must run your own instance and accept the ops burden. VoidPaste offers optional client encryption on a hosted service, plus accounts and API keys — but it is not a drop-in PrivateBin replacement, and client encryption still requires trusting our JavaScript. See private & encrypted pastes, Security, and VoidPaste vs PrivateBin.
Rentry.co
Rentry is a markdown publishing/paste service: custom URLs, edit codes, rich formatting, and long-lived pages by default. Free with optional membership. Use Rentry for durable notes and write-ups. Use VoidPaste for stack traces, configs, and secrets you intend to expire or burn. Deep dive: VoidPaste vs Rentry.
GitHub Gist
Gists are versioned, forkable snippets on GitHub — ideal when identity and history matter. Secret gists are unlisted, not true private ACLs, and they do not burn. Deep dive: VoidPaste vs GitHub Gist.
Ghostbin
Ghostbin was a privacy-oriented pastebin with expiration as a selling point. Public availability has been unreliable (including hard failures when fetching the site during this research). Do not build critical workflows on Ghostbin without verifying it is online. VoidPaste is an actively maintained hosted alternative with documented burn, expiry, and API behavior. Deep dive: VoidPaste vs Ghostbin.
When to pick VoidPaste
- You need a short-lived link for a log, diff, or config in chat.
- You want burn-after-reading or max views enforced by the API.
- You want optional client encryption without running PrivateBin yourself.
- You want REST + CLI against https://voidpaste.com without paying for a paste plan.
When not to: permanent documentation (prefer a repo or Rentry/Gist), mandatory self-host zero-knowledge with your own threat model (prefer PrivateBin you control), or public SEO discovery of pastes (Pastebin’s culture).
Create a paste
No account required for basic pastes. Max 1 MB. Open the editor or pipe via the CLI.