pump.io vs Sharkey
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | pump.io | Sharkey |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,237 | ★ 600 |
| First released | 2013 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Mastodon |
What are pump.io and Sharkey?
pump.io
pump.io is a stream server that lets users post activities to their followers and to the web, implementing the Activity Streams format. It can be self-hosted as a personal social networking node.
- Activity Streams social server
- Personal social networking node
- Federation support
Sharkey
Sharkey is a feature-rich fork of Misskey that adds quote posts, improved moderation, and additional customization for fediverse instances. It supports a rich timeline with reactions and drive file storage.
- Quote posts and reactions
- Drive file storage
- Extensive customization
- Improved moderation
pump.io vs Sharkey: key differences
Pump.io is written in JavaScript, while Sharkey is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for pump.io versus AGPL-3.0 for Sharkey. Pump.io is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Sharkey. Pump.io is the more established project (first released 2013), while Sharkey arrived in 2023. Pump.io has the considerably larger community, at 2,237 GitHub stars versus 600. Sharkey lists first-class Docker deployment; pump.io does not.
Why pick each one
Choose pump.io if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Active community (2.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose Sharkey if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is pump.io or Sharkey better?
Neither is universally better. pump.io has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are pump.io and Sharkey free and open-source?
Yes. pump.io is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Sharkey under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run pump.io and Sharkey with Docker?
pump.io: check the project docs for container support. Sharkey: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, pump.io or Sharkey?
pump.io has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Sharkey. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.