Loops vs Piped
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Loops | Piped |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 79 · Good | 91 · Excellent |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0-or-later | AGPL-3.0-or-later |
| Language | PHP | Vue |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 350 MB | 50 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 455 | ★ 10,258 |
| First released | 2025 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Instagram, TikTok, YouTube | YouTube |
What are Loops and Piped?
Loops
The federated short video sharing platform. Contribute to joinloops/loops-server development by creating an account on GitHub.
Piped
An alternative privacy-friendly YouTube frontend which is efficient by design.
Loops vs Piped: key differences
Loops is written in PHP, while Piped is built with Vue. Piped is the lighter option, starting around 50 MB of RAM against 350 MB for Loops. Piped has the considerably larger community, at 10,258 GitHub stars versus 455.
Why pick each one
Choose Loops if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0-or-later license
- Written in PHP
- Lightweight — runs in 350 MB RAM
Choose Piped if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0-or-later license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 10.3k GitHub stars
- Written in Vue
Frequently asked questions
Is Loops or Piped better?
Piped is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Loops if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Loops and Piped free and open-source?
Yes. Loops is licensed under AGPL-3.0-or-later and Piped under AGPL-3.0-or-later. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Loops and Piped with Docker?
Loops: check the project docs for container support. Piped: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Loops or Piped?
Piped has the smaller minimum footprint at 50 MB of RAM, compared to about 350 MB for Loops. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.