Firefish vs Phanpy
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Firefish
Customizable fediverse microblogging platform
VS
Phanpy
Minimalistic opinionated Fediverse ⁂ web client
| Feature | Firefish | Phanpy |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 100 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,300 | ★ 1,472 |
| First released | 2022 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Mastodon | Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads |
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 Phanpy if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Firefish or Phanpy better?
Phanpy is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Firefish if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Firefish and Phanpy free and open-source?
Yes. Firefish is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Phanpy under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Firefish and Phanpy with Docker?
Firefish: yes. Phanpy: check the project docs for container support.