Glitch-soc vs Phanpy
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Phanpy
Minimalistic opinionated Fediverse ⁂ web client
| Feature | Glitch-soc | Phanpy |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 81 · Excellent | 84 · Excellent |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Ruby | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 100 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 803 | ★ 1,492 |
| First released | 2017 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Mastodon | Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads |
What are Glitch-soc and Phanpy?
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
Phanpy
Minimalistic opinionated Fediverse ⁂ web client.
Glitch-soc vs Phanpy: key differences
Glitch-soc is written in Ruby, while Phanpy is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Glitch-soc versus MIT for Phanpy. Phanpy is the lighter option, starting around 100 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Glitch-soc. Glitch-soc is the more established project (first released 2017), while Phanpy arrived in 2024. Glitch-soc lists first-class Docker deployment; Phanpy does not.
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 Phanpy if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Glitch-soc or Phanpy better?
Phanpy is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Glitch-soc if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Glitch-soc and Phanpy free and open-source?
Yes. Glitch-soc is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Phanpy under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Glitch-soc and Phanpy with Docker?
Glitch-soc: yes. Phanpy: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Glitch-soc or Phanpy?
Phanpy has the smaller minimum footprint at 100 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Glitch-soc. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.