Side by side
| Pastebin | LogShare | |
|---|---|---|
| Account required | No for public pastes; private pastes need an account | Never |
| Default visibility | Public, listed and indexed | Unlisted, noindex, unguessable link |
| Expiry | Optional; defaults to Never | Required: 30 min, 1 h, 6 h, 24 h or 7 days |
| Size per paste | About 512 KB on the free plan | 5 MB |
| Reading a log | Plain text with syntax colours | Line numbers, level highlighting, search, wrap toggle |
| Real-time co-editing | No | Yes, in Code Share rooms |
| Ads on the paste | Yes | None on shared content |
| Burn after reading | Yes | No; the shortest expiry is 30 minutes |
Notes about Pastebin describe it as of September 2026; check its own site for current details.
When Pastebin is still the better choice
If you want a paste to be found, kept and linked to for years, Pastebin does that and LogShare deliberately does not. Public, permanent, searchable text with a large community and an API is Pastebin's job. Nothing on LogShare lives longer than seven days, and nothing is listed anywhere.
Where LogShare replaces it
The everyday cases are logs and configuration. A stack trace pasted into a support ticket, a kubectl or docker log a teammate needs for ten minutes, an nginx config you want a second pair of eyes on: these should be private by default and gone by default. LogShare Log Share gives the reader line numbers, error and warning highlighting and search, which a raw paste does not, and the link stops working when you said it would.
For code, the difference is bigger than expiry. A Code Share room is a live editor: send the link and the other person types alongside you, with syntax highlighting for sixteen languages, optional PIN protection and file attachments. Pastebin is a snapshot; a room is a conversation.
What LogShare does not do
No permanent pastes, no accounts or paste history, no burn-after-reading, and no public API yet. If those are essential, keep Pastebin for them and use LogShare for everything that should not be around next month.
FAQ
Is LogShare a free Pastebin alternative?
Yes. Every part of LogShare is free and needs no account: log, text and code shares, real-time rooms and the browser-side developer tools.
Can I make a LogShare paste last forever?
No. The longest expiry is 7 days for shares, and code rooms are removed 7 days after the last visit or edit. Permanence is the one Pastebin feature LogShare intentionally leaves out.
Can I password-protect a paste?
Log and text shares rely on their unguessable link. If you need a PIN, open a Private Room: only people who know the PIN can read or edit it, and it expires at a time you choose, up to 24 hours.
Does LogShare have an API like Pastebin?
Not a public one yet. Creating a share is a single HTTP POST behind the composer, so scripted use is possible; a documented API is on the list if people ask for it.