Misskey vs snac
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Misskey
Decentralized fediverse platform with rich features
VS
snac
Minimalist ActivityPub server in C
| Feature | Misskey | snac |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | C |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,328 | ★ 900 |
| First released | 2014 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Tumblr | Twitter, Mastodon |
What are Misskey and snac?
Misskey
Misskey is a free, open-source, decentralized social media platform powered by ActivityPub. It is known for its customizable UI, reactions, and interactive features beyond standard microblogging.
- ActivityPub federation
- Custom emoji reactions
- Highly customizable UI
- Built-in pages and widgets
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
Misskey vs snac: key differences
Misskey is written in TypeScript, while snac is built with C. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Misskey versus MIT for snac. Snac is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Misskey. Misskey is the more established project (first released 2014), while snac arrived in 2022. Misskey has the considerably larger community, at 11,328 GitHub stars versus 900. Misskey lists first-class Docker deployment; snac does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Misskey if…
- Rich, playful feature set
- Active development
Watch out for
- Resource-intensive
- Complex configuration
Choose snac if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Misskey or snac better?
Neither is universally better. Misskey has the larger community, while snac is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Misskey and snac free and open-source?
Yes. Misskey is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and snac under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Misskey and snac with Docker?
Misskey: yes. snac: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Misskey or snac?
snac has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Misskey. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.