Firefish vs Iceshrimp
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Firefish | Iceshrimp |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,300 | ★ 300 |
| First released | 2022 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Mastodon | Twitter, Mastodon |
What are Firefish and Iceshrimp?
Firefish
Firefish is an open-source, decentralized social media platform built on ActivityPub with extensive interface customization. It includes a built-in post translator, reactions, and a flexible timeline.
- Highly customizable UI
- Post reactions
- Built-in translation
- Federated timelines
Iceshrimp
Iceshrimp is a decentralized, ActivityPub-compatible microblogging server derived from Misskey with a focus on stability and reduced resource use. It offers a familiar fediverse experience with custom emoji and reactions.
- Misskey-compatible features
- Custom emoji reactions
- Lower resource usage
- ActivityPub federation
Firefish vs Iceshrimp: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Iceshrimp is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Firefish. Firefish has the considerably larger community, at 1,300 GitHub stars versus 300.
Why pick each one
Choose Firefish if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Choose Iceshrimp if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Firefish or Iceshrimp better?
Neither is universally better. Firefish has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Firefish and Iceshrimp free and open-source?
Yes. Firefish is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Iceshrimp under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Firefish and Iceshrimp with Docker?
Firefish: yes. Iceshrimp: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Firefish or Iceshrimp?
Iceshrimp has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Firefish. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.