GoBlog vs Plume
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | GoBlog | Plume |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 71 · Good | 22 · At risk |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 280 | ★ 2,223 |
| First released | 2020 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Medium, WordPress | Medium, WordPress.com |
What are GoBlog and Plume?
GoBlog
GoBlog is a fast, single-binary blogging system written in Go that supports ActivityPub federation, IndieWeb features, and webmentions. It is designed for personal sites that want fediverse interaction.
- Single Go binary
- ActivityPub and IndieWeb
- Webmention support
- SQLite storage
Plume
Plume is a free, open-source, federated blogging platform written in Rust. Multiple authors can publish on shared blogs, and posts federate across the fediverse via ActivityPub.
- Federated blogging
- Multiple authors per blog
- ActivityPub support
- Markdown editor
GoBlog vs Plume: key differences
GoBlog is written in Go, while Plume is built with Rust. Licensing differs — MIT for GoBlog versus AGPL-3.0 for Plume. GoBlog is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Plume. Plume is the more established project (first released 2018), while GoBlog arrived in 2020. Plume has the considerably larger community, at 2,223 GitHub stars versus 280.
Why pick each one
Choose GoBlog if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
Choose Plume if…
- Lightweight Rust backend
- Collaborative blogs
Watch out for
- Development has slowed
- Small ecosystem
Frequently asked questions
Is GoBlog or Plume better?
Neither is universally better. Plume has the larger community, while GoBlog is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are GoBlog and Plume free and open-source?
Yes. GoBlog is licensed under MIT and Plume under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run GoBlog and Plume with Docker?
GoBlog: yes. Plume: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, GoBlog or Plume?
GoBlog has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Plume. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.