Epicyon vs Takahe
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Epicyon | Takahe |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 300 | ★ 1,172 |
| First released | 2019 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Mastodon | Twitter, Mastodon |
What are Epicyon and Takahe?
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
Takahe
Takahe is an ActivityPub server that can host multiple domains and identities from a single deployment. It is designed for those who want to run several fediverse personas without separate installations.
- Multi-domain hosting
- Multiple identities per user
- Stateless workers
- ActivityPub federation
Epicyon vs Takahe: key differences
Both projects are written in Python. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Epicyon versus BSD-3-Clause for Takahe. Epicyon is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Takahe. Epicyon is the more established project (first released 2019), while Takahe arrived in 2022. Takahe has the considerably larger community, at 1,172 GitHub stars versus 300. Takahe 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 Takahe if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Epicyon or Takahe better?
Neither is universally better. Takahe has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Epicyon and Takahe free and open-source?
Yes. Epicyon is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Takahe under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Epicyon and Takahe with Docker?
Epicyon: check the project docs for container support. Takahe: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Epicyon or Takahe?
Epicyon has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Takahe. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.