Gathio vs Invidious
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?
Gathio
Simple, federated event hosting without accounts
VS
Invidious
Alternative front-end to YouTube
| Feature | Gathio | Invidious |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0-only |
| Language | JavaScript | Crystal |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 50 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 456 | ★ 22,442 |
| First released | 2019 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Facebook Events, Eventbrite | YouTube |
Why pick each one
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 JavaScript
Choose Invidious if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0-only license
- Mature project with 22.4k GitHub stars
- Written in Crystal
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Gathio or Invidious better?
Neither is universally better. Invidious has the larger community, while Gathio is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Gathio and Invidious free and open-source?
Yes. Gathio is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Invidious under GPL-3.0-only. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Gathio and Invidious with Docker?
Gathio: yes. Invidious: check the project docs for container support.