SHSelfHostIndex

Pleroma vs ActivityPub for WordPress

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?
PL Pleroma Lightweight fediverse microblogging server VS AC ActivityPub for WordPress Turn a WordPress blog into a fediverse actor
FeaturePleromaActivityPub for WordPress
CategorySocial NetworksSocial Networks
LicenseAGPL-3.0MIT
LanguageElixirPHP
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcesource
GitHub stars★ 2,200★ 576
First released20172019
ReplacesTwitter, TumblrTwitter, Medium

Why pick each one

Choose Pleroma if…

  • Runs on small servers
  • Compatible with Mastodon apps
Pleroma details

Choose ActivityPub for WordPress if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Written in PHP
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
ActivityPub for WordPress details

Frequently asked questions

Is Pleroma or ActivityPub for WordPress better?

Neither is universally better. Pleroma has the larger community, while ActivityPub for WordPress is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Pleroma and ActivityPub for WordPress free and open-source?

Yes. Pleroma is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and ActivityPub for WordPress under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Pleroma and ActivityPub for WordPress with Docker?

Pleroma: yes. ActivityPub for WordPress: check the project docs for container support.

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