# beam vs PixelFed

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | beam | PixelFed |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 60/100 | 64/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #31 of 125 in AI | #12 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums |
| GitHub stars | 1 834 | 7 131 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +47 ✓ | +24 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 364 ✓ | 15 |
| Latest release | gateway-0.1.837 · 26 Oct 2026 ✓ | v0.15.2 · 21 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Advanced ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Go | PHP |

## Which one should you pick?

PixelFed scores 64/100 against 60/100 for beam, so it is the safer default.

beam ships more often: 364 stable releases in the past year, against 15 for PixelFed.

## Details

- [beam](https://selfhost.directory/project/beam) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/beam.md)
- [PixelFed](https://selfhost.directory/project/pixelfed) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/pixelfed.md)

---
Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/beam-vs-pixelfed