Elk vs Invidious
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 | Elk | Invidious |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0-only |
| Language | Vue | Crystal |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 50 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,027 | ★ 22,442 |
| First released | 2022 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Twitter app | YouTube |
Why pick each one
Choose Elk if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 6k GitHub stars
- Written in Vue
Choose Invidious if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0-only license
- Mature project with 22.4k GitHub stars
- Written in Crystal
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Elk or Invidious better?
Neither is universally better. Invidious has the larger community, while Elk is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Elk and Invidious free and open-source?
Yes. Elk is licensed under MIT and Invidious under GPL-3.0-only. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Elk and Invidious with Docker?
Elk: check the project docs for container support. Invidious: check the project docs for container support.