Bridgy Fed vs Epicyon
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Bridgy Fed | Epicyon |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | Unlicense | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,238 | ★ 300 |
| First released | 2017 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Mastodon |
What are Bridgy Fed and Epicyon?
Bridgy Fed
Bridgy Fed connects personal websites that use IndieWeb standards to the fediverse and the rest of the social web. It translates webmentions and ActivityPub so different networks can interact.
- Connects IndieWeb to fediverse
- Webmention translation
- ActivityPub bridging
- Cross-network interaction
Epicyon
Epicyon is a modern, minimalist ActivityPub server designed to be lightweight, accessible, and easy to run on small hardware. It focuses on a no-JavaScript interface and strong moderation controls.
- No-JavaScript interface
- Runs on small servers
- Strong moderation tools
- Accessible by design
Bridgy Fed vs Epicyon: key differences
Both projects are written in Python. Licensing differs — Unlicense for Bridgy Fed versus AGPL-3.0 for Epicyon. Epicyon is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Bridgy Fed. Bridgy Fed is the more established project (first released 2017), while Epicyon arrived in 2019. Bridgy Fed has the considerably larger community, at 1,238 GitHub stars versus 300.
Why pick each one
Choose Bridgy Fed if…
- Released under the Unlicense license
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose Epicyon if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Bridgy Fed or Epicyon better?
Neither is universally better. Bridgy Fed has the larger community, while Epicyon is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Bridgy Fed and Epicyon free and open-source?
Yes. Bridgy Fed is licensed under Unlicense and Epicyon under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bridgy Fed and Epicyon with Docker?
Bridgy Fed: check the project docs for container support. Epicyon: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Bridgy Fed or Epicyon?
Epicyon has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Bridgy Fed. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.