Akkoma vs snac
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Akkoma | snac |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Elixir | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 400 | ★ 900 |
| First released | 2022 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Tumblr | Twitter, Mastodon |
What are Akkoma and snac?
Akkoma
Akkoma is a free, open-source fediverse microblogging server forked from Pleroma. It focuses on customization, additional features, and a friendly community while staying lightweight.
- Pleroma-compatible fediverse server
- Extensive customization options
- Mastodon API support
- Bubble timeline feature
snac
snac is a minimalist, lightweight ActivityPub instance server written in C with very low resource requirements. It implements the core fediverse features without a database or heavy runtime.
- Tiny C implementation
- No database needed
- ActivityPub federation
- Runs on minimal hardware
Akkoma vs snac: key differences
Akkoma is written in Elixir, while snac is built with C. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Akkoma versus MIT for snac. Snac is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Akkoma. Snac has the considerably larger community, at 900 GitHub stars versus 400. Akkoma lists first-class Docker deployment; snac does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Akkoma if…
- Lots of configuration options
- Lightweight footprint
Watch out for
- Smaller community
- Hosted on a niche forge
Choose snac if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Akkoma or snac better?
Neither is universally better. snac has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Akkoma and snac free and open-source?
Yes. Akkoma is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and snac under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Akkoma and snac with Docker?
Akkoma: yes. snac: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Akkoma or snac?
snac has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Akkoma. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.