pump.io vs WriteFreely

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?
Featurepump.ioWriteFreely
CategorySocial NetworksSocial Networks
LicenseApache-2.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageJavaScriptGo
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM256 MB256 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcedocker, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 2,239★ 5,216
First released20132018
ReplacesTwitterMedium, Tumblr

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
pump.io details

Choose WriteFreely if…

  • Clean minimalist design
  • Lightweight to host
WriteFreely details

Frequently asked questions

Is pump.io or WriteFreely better?

WriteFreely is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider pump.io if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are pump.io and WriteFreely free and open-source?

Yes. pump.io is licensed under Apache-2.0 and WriteFreely under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run pump.io and WriteFreely with Docker?

pump.io: check the project docs for container support. WriteFreely: yes.

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