Phanpy vs Sharkey
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?
Phanpy
Minimalistic opinionated Fediverse ⁂ web client
VS
Sharkey
Feature-rich Misskey fork for the fediverse
| Feature | Phanpy | Sharkey |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 100 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,472 | ★ 600 |
| First released | 2024 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads | Twitter, Mastodon |
Why pick each one
Choose Phanpy if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Choose Sharkey if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Phanpy or Sharkey better?
Phanpy is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Sharkey if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Phanpy and Sharkey free and open-source?
Yes. Phanpy is licensed under MIT and Sharkey under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Phanpy and Sharkey with Docker?
Phanpy: check the project docs for container support. Sharkey: yes.