mlmym vs Sublinks
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | mlmym | Sublinks |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 11 · At risk | 3 · At risk |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 287 | ★ 80 |
| First released | 2023 | 2023 |
| Replaces |
What are mlmym and Sublinks?
mlmym
mlmym is a lightweight alternative web interface for Lemmy that mimics the classic old.reddit.com design. It connects to any Lemmy instance and renders a fast, minimal experience.
- Old Reddit style UI
- Works with any Lemmy instance
- Very lightweight
- Fast page loads
Sublinks
Sublinks is a Lemmy-compatible link aggregator and discussion platform built on the ActivityPub protocol. It aims to federate with the Threadiverse while offering an independent backend implementation.
- Lemmy-compatible federation
- ActivityPub Threadiverse
- Independent Java backend
- Link aggregation and voting
mlmym vs Sublinks: key differences
Mlmym is written in Go, while Sublinks is built with Java. Licensing differs — MIT for mlmym versus AGPL-3.0 for Sublinks. Mlmym is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Sublinks. Mlmym has the considerably larger community, at 287 GitHub stars versus 80.
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
Choose Sublinks if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Java
Frequently asked questions
Is mlmym or Sublinks better?
mlmym is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Sublinks if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are mlmym and Sublinks free and open-source?
Yes. mlmym is licensed under MIT and Sublinks under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run mlmym and Sublinks with Docker?
mlmym: yes. Sublinks: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, mlmym or Sublinks?
mlmym has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Sublinks. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.