Khatru Pyramid vs Mitra
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Khatru Pyramid | Mitra |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | Unlicense | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 50 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 33 | ★ 200 |
| First released | 2024 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Mastodon, Twitter | Twitter, Mastodon |
What are Khatru Pyramid and Mitra?
Khatru Pyramid
A nostr relay with a invite hierarchy. Contribute to github-tijlxyz/khatru-pyramid development by creating an account on GitHub.
Mitra
Mitra is a lightweight, federated microblogging server written in Rust that implements ActivityPub. It is designed for small instances and includes optional integration with cryptocurrency-based features.
- Lightweight Rust server
- ActivityPub federation
- Small-instance focus
- Low resource usage
Khatru Pyramid vs Mitra: key differences
Khatru Pyramid is written in Go, while Mitra is built with Rust. Licensing differs — Unlicense for Khatru Pyramid versus AGPL-3.0 for Mitra. Khatru Pyramid is the lighter option, starting around 50 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Mitra. Mitra is the more established project (first released 2021), while Khatru Pyramid arrived in 2024. Mitra has the considerably larger community, at 200 GitHub stars versus 33. Mitra lists first-class Docker deployment; Khatru Pyramid does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Khatru Pyramid if…
- Released under the Unlicense license
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Choose Mitra if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Rust
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Khatru Pyramid or Mitra better?
Neither is universally better. Mitra has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Khatru Pyramid and Mitra free and open-source?
Yes. Khatru Pyramid is licensed under Unlicense and Mitra under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Khatru Pyramid and Mitra with Docker?
Khatru Pyramid: check the project docs for container support. Mitra: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Khatru Pyramid or Mitra?
Khatru Pyramid has the smaller minimum footprint at 50 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Mitra. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.