pump.io vs Wafrn
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 | Wafrn |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 48 · Fair | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,237 | ★ 283 |
| First released | 2013 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Tumblr, Twitter |
What are pump.io and Wafrn?
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
Wafrn
Wafrn is an open-source, federated social network with a Tumblr-inspired reblog-and-tag experience. It connects to the fediverse over ActivityPub so users can interact with Mastodon and other servers.
- Tumblr-style reblogs
- Tag-based discovery
- Fediverse federation
- Custom themes
pump.io vs Wafrn: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Wafrn's repository is archived and no longer developed, while pump.io is actively maintained. Pump.io is written in JavaScript, while Wafrn is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for pump.io versus AGPL-3.0 for Wafrn. Pump.io is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Wafrn. Pump.io is the more established project (first released 2013), while Wafrn arrived in 2023. Pump.io has the considerably larger community, at 2,237 GitHub stars versus 283. Wafrn 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 Wafrn 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 Wafrn 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 Wafrn free and open-source?
Yes. pump.io is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Wafrn under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run pump.io and Wafrn with Docker?
pump.io: check the project docs for container support. Wafrn: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, pump.io or Wafrn?
pump.io has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Wafrn. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.