Bridgy vs webmention.io
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Bridgy | webmention.io |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 77 · Good | 77 · Good |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | CC0-1.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | source | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 842 | ★ 873 |
| First released | 2013 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Disqus, Hosted social embeds | Disqus |
What are Bridgy and webmention.io?
Bridgy
Bridgy is a service, also self-hostable, that connects personal websites to social networks, sending comments, likes, and reshares back to your own site and supporting the IndieWeb POSSE workflow.
- Connect websites to social networks
- IndieWeb POSSE support
- Backfeeds comments and likes
webmention.io
webmention.io is an open source Webmention receiver that lets personal websites accept and store cross-site comments, likes, and mentions from the IndieWeb. It can be self-hosted as a standalone service.
- Receive Webmentions on your site
- Stores cross-site interactions
- IndieWeb-compatible
Bridgy vs webmention.io: key differences
Bridgy is written in Python, while webmention.io is built with PHP. Licensing differs — CC0-1.0 for Bridgy versus MIT for webmention.io.
Why pick each one
Choose Bridgy if…
- Released under the CC0-1.0 license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose webmention.io if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Bridgy or webmention.io better?
webmention.io is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Bridgy if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Bridgy and webmention.io free and open-source?
Yes. Bridgy is licensed under CC0-1.0 and webmention.io under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bridgy and webmention.io with Docker?
Bridgy: check the project docs for container support. webmention.io: check the project docs for container support.