Fedify vs Honk
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Fedify | Honk |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | MIT | ISC |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,026 | ★ 400 |
| First released | 2024 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Mastodon |
What are Fedify and Honk?
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
Honk
Honk is an opinionated, single-user ActivityPub server written in Go that federates with the wider fediverse. It deliberately omits algorithmic feeds and trends in favor of a simple chronological timeline.
- Single-user fediverse server
- Chronological timeline
- SQLite storage
- Minimal dependencies
Fedify vs Honk: key differences
Fedify is written in TypeScript, while Honk is built with Go. Licensing differs — MIT for Fedify versus ISC for Honk. Honk is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Fedify. Honk 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 400.
Why pick each one
Choose Fedify if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (1k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose Honk if…
- Released under the ISC license
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Fedify or Honk 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 Fedify and Honk free and open-source?
Yes. Fedify is licensed under MIT and Honk under ISC. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Fedify and Honk with Docker?
Fedify: check the project docs for container support. Honk: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Fedify or Honk?
Honk has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Fedify. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.