Streams vs Takahe
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?
| Feature | Streams | Takahe |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | PHP | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 100 | ★ 1,174 |
| First released | 2021 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Mastodon | Twitter, Mastodon |
Why pick each one
Choose Streams if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in PHP
Choose Takahe if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Streams or Takahe better?
Takahe is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Streams if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Streams and Takahe free and open-source?
Yes. Streams is licensed under MIT and Takahe under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Streams and Takahe with Docker?
Streams: yes. Takahe: yes.