SHSelfHostIndex

Iceshrimp vs Takahe

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?
IC Iceshrimp Lightweight Misskey-derived fediverse server VS TA Takahe Multi-domain ActivityPub server
FeatureIceshrimpTakahe
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
CategorySocial NetworksSocial Networks
LicenseAGPL-3.0BSD-3-Clause
LanguageTypeScriptPython
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM1,024 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 300★ 1,172
First released20232022
ReplacesTwitter, MastodonTwitter, Mastodon

What are Iceshrimp and Takahe?

Iceshrimp

Iceshrimp is a decentralized, ActivityPub-compatible microblogging server derived from Misskey with a focus on stability and reduced resource use. It offers a familiar fediverse experience with custom emoji and reactions.

  • Misskey-compatible features
  • Custom emoji reactions
  • Lower resource usage
  • ActivityPub federation

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

Iceshrimp vs Takahe: key differences

Iceshrimp is written in TypeScript, while Takahe is built with Python. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Iceshrimp versus BSD-3-Clause for Takahe. Takahe has the considerably larger community, at 1,172 GitHub stars versus 300.

Why pick each one

Choose Iceshrimp if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in TypeScript
Iceshrimp details

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
Takahe details

Frequently asked questions

Is Iceshrimp 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 Iceshrimp and Takahe free and open-source?

Yes. Iceshrimp is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Takahe under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Iceshrimp and Takahe with Docker?

Iceshrimp: yes. Takahe: yes.

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