Mastodon vs mlmym
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?
Mastodon
Decentralized open-source microblogging server
VS
mlmym
Old-Reddit-style alternative front-end for Lemmy
| Feature | Mastodon | mlmym |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Ruby | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 50,177 | ★ 287 |
| First released | 2016 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Twitter, X |
Why pick each one
Choose mlmym if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Mastodon or mlmym better?
Neither is universally better. Mastodon has the larger community, while mlmym is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Mastodon and mlmym free and open-source?
Yes. Mastodon is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and mlmym under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mastodon and mlmym with Docker?
Mastodon: yes. mlmym: yes.