Flarum vs Pixelfed
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?
| Feature | Flarum | Pixelfed |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,739 | ★ 7,055 |
| First released | 2015 | 2018 |
| Replaces | phpBB, vBulletin |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Flarum or Pixelfed better?
Neither is universally better. Pixelfed has the larger community, while Flarum is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Flarum and Pixelfed free and open-source?
Yes. Flarum is licensed under MIT and Pixelfed under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Flarum and Pixelfed with Docker?
Flarum: yes. Pixelfed: yes.