Friendica vs Takahe
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Friendica
Decentralized social network with broad federation
VS
Takahe
Multi-domain ActivityPub server
| Feature | Friendica | Takahe |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 84 · Excellent | 18 · At risk |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | PHP | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,690 | ★ 1,172 |
| First released | 2010 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Twitter | Twitter, Mastodon |
What are Friendica and Takahe?
Friendica
Friendica is a free, open-source decentralized social network. It connects to the fediverse and other networks, offering a Facebook-style experience with groups, photos, and events.
- Federates with many networks
- Groups and forums
- Photo albums and events
- Addon system
Takahe
Takahe is an ActivityPub server that can host multiple domains and identities from a single deployment. It is designed for those who want to run several fediverse personas without separate installations.
- Multi-domain hosting
- Multiple identities per user
- Stateless workers
- ActivityPub federation
Friendica vs Takahe: key differences
Friendica is written in PHP, while Takahe is built with Python. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Friendica versus BSD-3-Clause for Takahe. Friendica is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Takahe. Friendica is the more established project (first released 2010), while Takahe arrived in 2022.
Why pick each one
Choose Friendica if…
- Connects to multiple protocols
- Facebook-like experience
Watch out for
- Dated interface
- Smaller user base
Choose Takahe if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Friendica or Takahe better?
Neither is universally better. Friendica has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Friendica and Takahe free and open-source?
Yes. Friendica is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Takahe under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Friendica and Takahe with Docker?
Friendica: yes. Takahe: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Friendica or Takahe?
Friendica has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Takahe. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.