Bridgy Fed vs Sharkey
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 | Sharkey |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | Unlicense | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,238 | ★ 600 |
| First released | 2017 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Mastodon |
What are Bridgy Fed and Sharkey?
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
Sharkey
Sharkey is a feature-rich fork of Misskey that adds quote posts, improved moderation, and additional customization for fediverse instances. It supports a rich timeline with reactions and drive file storage.
- Quote posts and reactions
- Drive file storage
- Extensive customization
- Improved moderation
Bridgy Fed vs Sharkey: key differences
Bridgy Fed is written in Python, while Sharkey is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — Unlicense for Bridgy Fed versus AGPL-3.0 for Sharkey. Bridgy Fed is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Sharkey. Bridgy Fed is the more established project (first released 2017), while Sharkey arrived in 2023. Bridgy Fed has the considerably larger community, at 1,238 GitHub stars versus 600. Sharkey lists first-class Docker deployment; Bridgy Fed does not.
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 Sharkey if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Bridgy Fed or Sharkey better?
Neither is universally better. Bridgy Fed has the larger community, while Sharkey is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Bridgy Fed and Sharkey free and open-source?
Yes. Bridgy Fed is licensed under Unlicense and Sharkey under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bridgy Fed and Sharkey with Docker?
Bridgy Fed: check the project docs for container support. Sharkey: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Bridgy Fed or Sharkey?
Bridgy Fed has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Sharkey. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.