Hollo vs Takahe
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Hollo | Takahe |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 79 · Good | 18 · At risk |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 489 | ★ 1,172 |
| First released | 2024 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Mastodon | Twitter, Mastodon |
What are Hollo and Takahe?
Hollo
Hollo is a federated single-user microblogging server compatible with the Mastodon client API. It is designed for individuals who want their own ActivityPub presence without running a multi-user instance.
- Single-user microblog
- Mastodon API compatible
- ActivityPub federation
- Markdown posts
Takahe
Takahe is an ActivityPub server that can host multiple domains and identities from a single deployment. It is designed for those who want to run several fediverse personas without separate installations.
- Multi-domain hosting
- Multiple identities per user
- Stateless workers
- ActivityPub federation
Hollo vs Takahe: key differences
Hollo is written in TypeScript, while Takahe is built with Python. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Hollo versus BSD-3-Clause for Takahe. Hollo is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Takahe. Takahe is the more established project (first released 2022), while Hollo arrived in 2024. Takahe has the considerably larger community, at 1,172 GitHub stars versus 489.
Why pick each one
Choose Hollo if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in TypeScript
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose Takahe if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Hollo or Takahe better?
Neither is universally better. Takahe has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Hollo and Takahe free and open-source?
Yes. Hollo is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Takahe under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Hollo and Takahe with Docker?
Hollo: yes. Takahe: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Hollo or Takahe?
Hollo has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Takahe. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.