Invidious vs Zap
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?
Invidious
Alternative front-end to YouTube
VS
Zap
Decentralized social network with nomadic identity
| Feature | Invidious | Zap |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | GPL-3.0-only | MIT |
| Language | Crystal | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 50 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 22,442 | ★ 50 |
| First released | 2023 | 2018 |
| Replaces | YouTube | Facebook, Twitter |
Why pick each one
Choose Invidious if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0-only license
- Mature project with 22.4k GitHub stars
- Written in Crystal
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Choose Zap if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in PHP
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Invidious or Zap better?
Invidious is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Zap if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Invidious and Zap free and open-source?
Yes. Invidious is licensed under GPL-3.0-only and Zap under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Invidious and Zap with Docker?
Invidious: check the project docs for container support. Zap: check the project docs for container support.