Campfire vs Mastodon
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 | Mastodon |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | free | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, one-click | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,471 | ★ 50,177 |
| First released | 2022 | 2016 |
| Replaces | — | Twitter, X |
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)
Frequently asked questions
Is Campfire or Mastodon better?
Neither is universally better. Mastodon has the larger community, while Campfire is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Campfire and Mastodon free and open-source?
Yes. Campfire is licensed under free and Mastodon under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Campfire and Mastodon with Docker?
Campfire: yes. Mastodon: yes.