Piped vs Sphinx Relay
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?
| Feature | Piped | Sphinx Relay |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0-or-later | free |
| Language | Vue | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 50 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, one-click |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,168 | ★ 247 |
| First released | 2024 | 2022 |
| Replaces | YouTube | — |
Why pick each one
Choose Piped if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0-or-later license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 10.2k GitHub stars
- Written in Vue
Choose Sphinx Relay if…
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- One-click install on common self-host platforms
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Piped or Sphinx Relay better?
Neither is universally better. Piped has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Piped and Sphinx Relay free and open-source?
Yes. Piped is licensed under AGPL-3.0-or-later and Sphinx Relay under free. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Piped and Sphinx Relay with Docker?
Piped: check the project docs for container support. Sphinx Relay: yes.