Ktistec vs snac
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Ktistec | snac |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Crystal | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 436 | ★ 900 |
| First released | 2020 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Mastodon | Twitter, Mastodon |
What are Ktistec and snac?
Ktistec
Ktistec is a single-user ActivityPub server written in Crystal, designed to be easy to deploy and maintain. It provides a personal fediverse presence with a simple, self-contained runtime.
- Single-user design
- Self-contained runtime
- SQLite storage
- ActivityPub federation
snac
snac is a minimalist, lightweight ActivityPub instance server written in C with very low resource requirements. It implements the core fediverse features without a database or heavy runtime.
- Tiny C implementation
- No database needed
- ActivityPub federation
- Runs on minimal hardware
Ktistec vs snac: key differences
Ktistec is written in Crystal, while snac is built with C. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Ktistec versus MIT for snac. Snac is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Ktistec. Ktistec is the more established project (first released 2020), while snac arrived in 2022. Snac has the considerably larger community, at 900 GitHub stars versus 436.
Why pick each one
Choose Ktistec if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Written in Crystal
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose snac if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Ktistec or snac better?
Neither is universally better. snac has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Ktistec and snac free and open-source?
Yes. Ktistec is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and snac under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ktistec and snac with Docker?
Ktistec: check the project docs for container support. snac: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Ktistec or snac?
snac has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Ktistec. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.