Piped vs Zap
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 | Zap |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0-or-later | MIT |
| Language | Vue | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 50 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,168 | ★ 50 |
| First released | 2024 | 2018 |
| Replaces | YouTube | Facebook, Twitter |
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 Zap if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in PHP
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Piped or Zap better?
Piped is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Zap if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Piped and Zap free and open-source?
Yes. Piped is licensed under AGPL-3.0-or-later and Zap under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Piped and Zap with Docker?
Piped: check the project docs for container support. Zap: check the project docs for container support.