Takahe 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 | Takahe | ActivityPub for WordPress |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 18 · At risk | 80 · Excellent |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Language | Python | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,172 | ★ 583 |
| First released | 2022 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Twitter, Mastodon | Twitter, Medium |
What are Takahe and ActivityPub for WordPress?
Takahe
Takahe is an ActivityPub server that can host multiple domains and identities from a single deployment. It is designed for those who want to run several fediverse personas without separate installations.
- Multi-domain hosting
- Multiple identities per user
- Stateless workers
- ActivityPub federation
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
Takahe vs ActivityPub for WordPress: key differences
Takahe is written in Python, while ActivityPub for WordPress is built with PHP. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for Takahe versus MIT for ActivityPub for WordPress. ActivityPub for WordPress is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Takahe. ActivityPub for WordPress is the more established project (first released 2019), while Takahe arrived in 2022. Takahe has the considerably larger community, at 1,172 GitHub stars versus 583. Takahe lists first-class Docker deployment; ActivityPub for WordPress does not.
Why pick each one
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
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 Takahe or ActivityPub for WordPress better?
Neither is universally better. Takahe 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 Takahe and ActivityPub for WordPress free and open-source?
Yes. Takahe is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and ActivityPub for WordPress under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Takahe and ActivityPub for WordPress with Docker?
Takahe: yes. ActivityPub for WordPress: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Takahe or ActivityPub for WordPress?
ActivityPub for WordPress has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Takahe. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.