Epicyon vs Pleroma
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Pleroma
Lightweight fediverse microblogging server
| Feature | Epicyon | Pleroma |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Elixir |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 300 | ★ 2,200 |
| First released | 2019 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Mastodon | Twitter, Tumblr |
What are Epicyon and Pleroma?
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
Pleroma
Pleroma is a lightweight, free, open-source social networking server compatible with the fediverse. It implements ActivityPub and the Mastodon API while using fewer resources than Mastodon.
- ActivityPub federation
- Mastodon API compatible
- Low resource footprint
- Multiple frontends supported
Epicyon vs Pleroma: key differences
Epicyon is written in Python, while Pleroma is built with Elixir. Epicyon is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Pleroma. Pleroma is the more established project (first released 2017), while Epicyon arrived in 2019. Pleroma has the considerably larger community, at 2,200 GitHub stars versus 300. Pleroma lists first-class Docker deployment; Epicyon does not.
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 Pleroma if…
- Runs on small servers
- Compatible with Mastodon apps
Watch out for
- Smaller community
- Less polished admin tools
Frequently asked questions
Is Epicyon or Pleroma better?
Neither is universally better. Pleroma has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Epicyon and Pleroma free and open-source?
Yes. Epicyon is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Pleroma under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Epicyon and Pleroma with Docker?
Epicyon: check the project docs for container support. Pleroma: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Epicyon or Pleroma?
Epicyon has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Pleroma. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.