PieFed vs Tildes
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted forums & community options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
PieFed
Federated discussion and link aggregation platform
VS
Tildes
Non-profit community discussion platform
| Feature | PieFed | Tildes |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Forums & Community | Forums & Community |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 600 | ★ 1,000 |
| First released | 2023 | 2018 |
| Replaces |
What are PieFed and Tildes?
PieFed
PieFed is a self-hosted, federated link aggregator and discussion platform built with Python. It connects to the fediverse via ActivityPub and emphasizes community moderation and safety.
- ActivityPub federation
- Reddit-style communities
- Strong moderation tools
- Interoperates with Lemmy
Tildes
Tildes is the open-source code behind a non-profit, ad-free community discussion site organized into topic groups. It emphasizes thoughtful conversation through invite-based membership and gentle moderation tools.
- Topic-group structure
- Invite-based growth
- Comment tagging
- Ad-free by design
PieFed vs Tildes: key differences
Both projects are written in Python. Tildes is the more established project (first released 2018), while PieFed arrived in 2023. PieFed lists first-class Docker deployment; Tildes does not.
Why pick each one
Choose PieFed if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
Watch out for
- Young project
- Smaller community
Choose Tildes if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Active community (1k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is PieFed or Tildes better?
Neither is universally better. Tildes has the larger community, while PieFed is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are PieFed and Tildes free and open-source?
Yes. PieFed is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Tildes under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run PieFed and Tildes with Docker?
PieFed: yes. Tildes: check the project docs for container support.