Epicyon vs Fedify
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Epicyon | Fedify |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 300 | ★ 1,026 |
| First released | 2019 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Mastodon |
What are Epicyon and Fedify?
Epicyon
Epicyon is a modern, minimalist ActivityPub server designed to be lightweight, accessible, and easy to run on small hardware. It focuses on a no-JavaScript interface and strong moderation controls.
- No-JavaScript interface
- Runs on small servers
- Strong moderation tools
- Accessible by design
Fedify
Fedify is a TypeScript framework for building ActivityPub-based federated server applications. It handles the protocol details so developers can create new fediverse software more easily.
- ActivityPub server framework
- Handles federation protocol
- TypeScript and Deno support
- Powers fediverse apps
Epicyon vs Fedify: key differences
Epicyon is written in Python, while Fedify is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Epicyon versus MIT for Fedify. Epicyon is the more established project (first released 2019), while Fedify arrived in 2024. Fedify has the considerably larger community, at 1,026 GitHub stars versus 300.
Why pick each one
Choose Epicyon if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose Fedify if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (1k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Epicyon or Fedify better?
Neither is universally better. Fedify has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Epicyon and Fedify free and open-source?
Yes. Epicyon is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Fedify under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Epicyon and Fedify with Docker?
Epicyon: check the project docs for container support. Fedify: check the project docs for container support.