Pleroma vs WriteFreely
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Pleroma
Lightweight fediverse microblogging server
VS
WriteFreely
Minimalist federated blogging platform
| Feature | Pleroma | WriteFreely |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Elixir | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,200 | ★ 5,257 |
| First released | 2017 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Tumblr | Medium, Tumblr |
What are Pleroma and WriteFreely?
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
WriteFreely
WriteFreely is a free, open-source, federated blogging platform written in Go. It focuses on distraction-free writing and publishes posts that can federate with the fediverse.
- Distraction-free writing
- ActivityPub federation
- Multiple blogs per user
- Markdown support
Pleroma vs WriteFreely: key differences
Pleroma is written in Elixir, while WriteFreely is built with Go. WriteFreely is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Pleroma. WriteFreely has the considerably larger community, at 5,257 GitHub stars versus 2,200.
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 WriteFreely if…
- Clean minimalist design
- Lightweight to host
Watch out for
- Few social features
- Sparse theming options
Frequently asked questions
Is Pleroma or WriteFreely better?
WriteFreely is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Pleroma if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Pleroma and WriteFreely free and open-source?
Yes. Pleroma is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and WriteFreely under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pleroma and WriteFreely with Docker?
Pleroma: yes. WriteFreely: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Pleroma or WriteFreely?
WriteFreely has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Pleroma. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.