Akkoma vs Takahe
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Akkoma | Takahe |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Elixir | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 400 | ★ 1,172 |
| First released | 2022 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Tumblr | Twitter, Mastodon |
What are Akkoma and Takahe?
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
Takahe
Takahe is an ActivityPub server that can host multiple domains and identities from a single deployment. It is designed for those who want to run several fediverse personas without separate installations.
- Multi-domain hosting
- Multiple identities per user
- Stateless workers
- ActivityPub federation
Akkoma vs Takahe: key differences
Akkoma is written in Elixir, while Takahe is built with Python. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Akkoma versus BSD-3-Clause for Takahe. Akkoma is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Takahe. Takahe has the considerably larger community, at 1,172 GitHub stars versus 400.
Why pick each one
Choose Akkoma if…
- Lots of configuration options
- Lightweight footprint
Watch out for
- Smaller community
- Hosted on a niche forge
Choose Takahe if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Akkoma or Takahe better?
Neither is universally better. Takahe has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Akkoma and Takahe free and open-source?
Yes. Akkoma is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Takahe under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Akkoma and Takahe with Docker?
Akkoma: yes. Takahe: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Akkoma or Takahe?
Akkoma has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Takahe. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.