Firefish vs Pleroma
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Pleroma
Lightweight fediverse microblogging server
| Feature | Firefish | Pleroma |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Elixir |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,300 | ★ 2,200 |
| First released | 2022 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Mastodon | Twitter, Tumblr |
What are Firefish and Pleroma?
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
Pleroma
Pleroma is a lightweight, free, open-source social networking server compatible with the fediverse. It implements ActivityPub and the Mastodon API while using fewer resources than Mastodon.
- ActivityPub federation
- Mastodon API compatible
- Low resource footprint
- Multiple frontends supported
Firefish vs Pleroma: key differences
Firefish is written in TypeScript, while Pleroma is built with Elixir. Pleroma is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Firefish. Pleroma is the more established project (first released 2017), while Firefish arrived in 2022.
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 Pleroma if…
- Runs on small servers
- Compatible with Mastodon apps
Watch out for
- Smaller community
- Less polished admin tools
Frequently asked questions
Is Firefish or Pleroma better?
Neither is universally better. Pleroma has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Firefish and Pleroma free and open-source?
Yes. Firefish is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Pleroma under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Firefish and Pleroma with Docker?
Firefish: yes. Pleroma: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Firefish or Pleroma?
Pleroma has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Firefish. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.