Pleroma vs Takahe
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Pleroma | Takahe |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Elixir | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,200 | ★ 1,172 |
| First released | 2017 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Tumblr | Twitter, Mastodon |
What are Pleroma and Takahe?
Pleroma
Pleroma is a lightweight, free, open-source social networking server compatible with the fediverse. It implements ActivityPub and the Mastodon API while using fewer resources than Mastodon.
- ActivityPub federation
- Mastodon API compatible
- Low resource footprint
- Multiple frontends supported
Takahe
Takahe is an ActivityPub server that can host multiple domains and identities from a single deployment. It is designed for those who want to run several fediverse personas without separate installations.
- Multi-domain hosting
- Multiple identities per user
- Stateless workers
- ActivityPub federation
Pleroma vs Takahe: key differences
Pleroma is written in Elixir, while Takahe is built with Python. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Pleroma versus BSD-3-Clause for Takahe. Pleroma is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Takahe. Pleroma is the more established project (first released 2017), while Takahe arrived in 2022.
Why pick each one
Choose Pleroma if…
- Runs on small servers
- Compatible with Mastodon apps
Watch out for
- Smaller community
- Less polished admin tools
Choose Takahe if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Pleroma or Takahe better?
Neither is universally better. Pleroma has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Pleroma and Takahe free and open-source?
Yes. Pleroma is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Takahe under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pleroma and Takahe with Docker?
Pleroma: yes. Takahe: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Pleroma or Takahe?
Pleroma has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Takahe. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.