snac 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.
| Feature | snac | ActivityPub for WordPress |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | C | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 900 | ★ 583 |
| First released | 2022 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Mastodon | Twitter, Medium |
What are snac and ActivityPub for WordPress?
snac
snac is a minimalist, lightweight ActivityPub instance server written in C with very low resource requirements. It implements the core fediverse features without a database or heavy runtime.
- Tiny C implementation
- No database needed
- ActivityPub federation
- Runs on minimal hardware
ActivityPub for WordPress
The ActivityPub plugin lets a self-hosted WordPress site federate with the fediverse, so people can follow blog posts from Mastodon and other ActivityPub software. It also delivers comments back as replies.
- Federates WordPress posts
- Follow blogs from Mastodon
- Comments as replies
- Official Automattic plugin
snac vs ActivityPub for WordPress: key differences
Snac is written in C, while ActivityPub for WordPress is built with PHP. Snac is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for ActivityPub for WordPress. ActivityPub for WordPress is the more established project (first released 2019), while snac arrived in 2022.
Why pick each one
Choose snac if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
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
Frequently asked questions
Is snac or ActivityPub for WordPress better?
Neither is universally better. snac 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 snac and ActivityPub for WordPress free and open-source?
Yes. snac is licensed under MIT and ActivityPub for WordPress under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run snac and ActivityPub for WordPress with Docker?
snac: check the project docs for container support. ActivityPub for WordPress: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, snac or ActivityPub for WordPress?
snac has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for ActivityPub for WordPress. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.