docbin vs pastebin
pastebin has been the place to dump text since 2002. docbin does a narrower job, and its free tier holds ten times as much. here is the whole comparison, including the parts where pastebin is the better pick.
the numbers
| feature | docbin | pastebin |
|---|---|---|
| max upload | 5 MB25 MB pro | 512 KB10 MB pro |
| files per link | 2050 pro | 1 |
| write rate | 15/min75/min pro | 20/day250/day pro |
| private | 20unlimited pro | 10unlimited pro |
| syntax languages | 375 | 200+ |
| markdown | renders | highlight only |
| versions | every edit | none |
| scraping api | open, no key | pro only |
pastebin's numbers come from its own faq and api docs. it does not publish a pro price on either page, so there is no price row.
where docbin wins
- ten times the free size
- 5 MB against pastebin's 512 KB, and half of what pastebin charges for.
- markdown that renders
- tables, callouts and footnotes come out as a page, not monospace text.
- versions
- every edit becomes a new immutable version. old links keep showing what you sent.
- many files, one link
- up to 20 files in a single document, so a whole set of logs shares one url.
where pastebin wins
- a guest can post unlisted
- pastebin lets a signed-out visitor choose unlisted, so the paste stays off the archive. a docbin anonymous paste is always public and always in the open feed.
- a public archive
- millions of pastes going back to 2002, searchable. docbin started in 2025.
- everyone knows the url
- you can say "pastebin it" out loud and be understood.
so which one
use pastebin for a snippet you will never open again. it is faster to reach and you need nothing from it afterward.
use docbin when the text has to survive. a build log someone reads tomorrow, a spec that gets edited, release notes you hand out as a link. rendering, versions and a 5 MB ceiling only matter once the document outlives the message it was pasted into.
paste a documentor from your shell:
npx docbin push ./file.md