Streams vs Zap
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?
Streams
Decentralized social server with nomadic identity
VS
Zap
Decentralized social network with nomadic identity
| Feature | Streams | Zap |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 100 | ★ 50 |
| First released | 2021 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Mastodon | Facebook, Twitter |
Why pick each one
Choose Streams if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in PHP
Choose Zap if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in PHP
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Streams or Zap better?
Neither is universally better. Streams has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Streams and Zap free and open-source?
Yes. Streams is licensed under MIT and Zap under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Streams and Zap with Docker?
Streams: yes. Zap: check the project docs for container support.