kbin vs Mastodon
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?
kbin
Federated content aggregator and microblog
VS
Mastodon
Decentralized open-source microblogging server
| Feature | kbin | Mastodon |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 600 | ★ 50,177 |
| First released | 2020 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Twitter, X |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is kbin or Mastodon better?
Neither is universally better. Mastodon has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are kbin and Mastodon free and open-source?
Yes. kbin is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Mastodon under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run kbin and Mastodon with Docker?
kbin: yes. Mastodon: yes.