Firefish vs ActivityPub for WordPress
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Firefish | ActivityPub for WordPress |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,300 | ★ 583 |
| First released | 2022 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Mastodon | Twitter, Medium |
What are Firefish and ActivityPub for WordPress?
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
ActivityPub for WordPress
The ActivityPub plugin lets a self-hosted WordPress site federate with the fediverse, so people can follow blog posts from Mastodon and other ActivityPub software. It also delivers comments back as replies.
- Federates WordPress posts
- Follow blogs from Mastodon
- Comments as replies
- Official Automattic plugin
Firefish vs ActivityPub for WordPress: key differences
Firefish is written in TypeScript, while ActivityPub for WordPress is built with PHP. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Firefish versus MIT for ActivityPub for WordPress. ActivityPub for WordPress is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Firefish. ActivityPub for WordPress is the more established project (first released 2019), while Firefish arrived in 2022. Firefish has the considerably larger community, at 1,300 GitHub stars versus 583. Firefish lists first-class Docker deployment; ActivityPub for WordPress does not.
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 ActivityPub for WordPress if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Firefish or ActivityPub for WordPress better?
Neither is universally better. Firefish has the larger community, while ActivityPub for WordPress is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Firefish and ActivityPub for WordPress free and open-source?
Yes. Firefish is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and ActivityPub for WordPress under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Firefish and ActivityPub for WordPress with Docker?
Firefish: yes. ActivityPub for WordPress: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Firefish or ActivityPub for WordPress?
ActivityPub for WordPress has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Firefish. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.