Fedify vs pump.io
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Fedify | pump.io |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 82 · Excellent | 48 · Fair |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,026 | ★ 2,237 |
| First released | 2024 | 2013 |
| Replaces |
What are Fedify and pump.io?
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
pump.io
pump.io is a stream server that lets users post activities to their followers and to the web, implementing the Activity Streams format. It can be self-hosted as a personal social networking node.
- Activity Streams social server
- Personal social networking node
- Federation support
Fedify vs pump.io: key differences
Fedify is written in TypeScript, while pump.io is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Fedify versus Apache-2.0 for pump.io. Pump.io is the more established project (first released 2013), while Fedify arrived in 2024. Pump.io has the considerably larger community, at 2,237 GitHub stars versus 1,026.
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 pump.io if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Active community (2.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Fedify or pump.io better?
Neither is universally better. pump.io has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Fedify and pump.io free and open-source?
Yes. Fedify is licensed under MIT and pump.io under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Fedify and pump.io with Docker?
Fedify: check the project docs for container support. pump.io: check the project docs for container support.