Bloat vs Lemmy
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Bloat
Web client for Pleroma, Mitra and other Fediverse connected apps
VS
Lemmy
Federated link aggregator and forum
| Feature | Bloat | Lemmy |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | Unlicense | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Rust | |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 50 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | — | ★ 14,538 |
| First released | 2024 | 2019 |
| Replaces | — |
Why pick each one
Choose Bloat if…
- Released under the Unlicense license
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Bloat or Lemmy better?
Neither is universally better. Lemmy has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Bloat and Lemmy free and open-source?
Yes. Bloat is licensed under Unlicense and Lemmy under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bloat and Lemmy with Docker?
Bloat: check the project docs for container support. Lemmy: yes.