Campfire vs Elk
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?
| Feature | Campfire | Elk |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | free | MIT |
| Language | Ruby | Vue |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, one-click | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,471 | ★ 6,027 |
| First released | 2022 | 2022 |
| Replaces | — | Twitter app |
Why pick each one
Choose Campfire if…
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- One-click install on common self-host platforms
- Active community (4.5k GitHub stars)
Choose Elk if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 6k GitHub stars
- Written in Vue
Frequently asked questions
Is Campfire or Elk better?
Neither is universally better. Elk has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Campfire and Elk free and open-source?
Yes. Campfire is licensed under free and Elk under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Campfire and Elk with Docker?
Campfire: yes. Elk: check the project docs for container support.