Mastodon vs Plume
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
Plume
Federated blogging engine for the fediverse
| Feature | Mastodon | Plume |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 50,177 | ★ 2,222 |
| First released | 2016 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Twitter, X | Medium, WordPress.com |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Mastodon or Plume better?
Neither is universally better. Mastodon has the larger community, while Plume is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Mastodon and Plume free and open-source?
Yes. Mastodon is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Plume under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mastodon and Plume with Docker?
Mastodon: yes. Plume: yes.