Glitch-soc vs Mitra
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Mitra
Federated microblogging server with crypto integration
| Feature | Glitch-soc | Mitra |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 803 | ★ 200 |
| First released | 2017 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Mastodon | Twitter, Mastodon |
What are Glitch-soc and Mitra?
Glitch-soc
Glitch-soc is a community-maintained fork of Mastodon that adds experimental features and customization options ahead of upstream. It federates fully with the rest of the fediverse over ActivityPub.
- Extra customization options
- Experimental features
- Full fediverse federation
- Themeable interface
Mitra
Mitra is a lightweight, federated microblogging server written in Rust that implements ActivityPub. It is designed for small instances and includes optional integration with cryptocurrency-based features.
- Lightweight Rust server
- ActivityPub federation
- Small-instance focus
- Low resource usage
Glitch-soc vs Mitra: key differences
Glitch-soc is written in Ruby, while Mitra is built with Rust. Mitra is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Glitch-soc. Glitch-soc is the more established project (first released 2017), while Mitra arrived in 2021. Glitch-soc has the considerably larger community, at 803 GitHub stars versus 200.
Why pick each one
Choose Glitch-soc if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Ruby
Choose Mitra if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Rust
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Glitch-soc or Mitra better?
Neither is universally better. Glitch-soc has the larger community, while Mitra is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Glitch-soc and Mitra free and open-source?
Yes. Glitch-soc is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Mitra under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Glitch-soc and Mitra with Docker?
Glitch-soc: yes. Mitra: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Glitch-soc or Mitra?
Mitra has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Glitch-soc. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.