Hometown vs Khatru Pyramid
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?
| Feature | Hometown | Khatru Pyramid |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Unlicense |
| Language | Ruby | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 50 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 819 | ★ 33 |
| First released | 2019 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Mastodon | Mastodon, Twitter |
Why pick each one
Choose Hometown if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Ruby
Choose Khatru Pyramid if…
- Released under the Unlicense license
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Hometown or Khatru Pyramid better?
Neither is universally better. Hometown has the larger community, while Khatru Pyramid is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Hometown and Khatru Pyramid free and open-source?
Yes. Hometown is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Khatru Pyramid under Unlicense. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Hometown and Khatru Pyramid with Docker?
Hometown: yes. Khatru Pyramid: check the project docs for container support.