Gancio vs Gathio
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Gathio
Simple, federated event hosting without accounts
| Feature | Gancio | Gathio |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 400 | ★ 464 |
| First released | 2019 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Facebook Events, Meetup | Facebook Events, Eventbrite |
What are Gancio and Gathio?
Gancio
Gancio is a self-hosted, federated platform for local communities to publish and discover shared events and an agenda. It connects to the fediverse over ActivityPub so events reach followers on other servers.
- Community event agenda
- Fediverse federation
- Embeddable event lists
- Collaborative moderation
Gathio
Gathio is a lightweight platform for creating and sharing event pages without requiring users to register accounts. Events are private by default and editable through a secret link.
- No-account event pages
- Editable via secret link
- ActivityPub support
- Lightweight deployment
Gancio vs Gathio: key differences
Gancio is written in JavaScript, while Gathio is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Gancio versus GPL-3.0 for Gathio. Gathio is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Gancio.
Why pick each one
Choose Gancio if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in JavaScript
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose Gathio if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Gancio or Gathio better?
Gathio is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Gancio if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Gancio and Gathio free and open-source?
Yes. Gancio is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Gathio under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Gancio and Gathio with Docker?
Gancio: yes. Gathio: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Gancio or Gathio?
Gathio has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Gancio. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.