# Giraffile vs Mastodon

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

| | Giraffile | Mastodon |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 45/100 | 82/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #62 of 86 in File Sharing | #2 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums |
| GitHub stars | 187 | 50 459 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +0 | +139 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 1 | 42 ✓ |
| Latest release | versions · 19 Aug 2026 | v4.4.27 · 29 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | JavaScript | Ruby |

## Which one should you pick?

Mastodon scores 82/100 against 45/100 for Giraffile, so it is the safer default.

Mastodon ships more often: 42 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for Giraffile.

If you want the quickest setup, Giraffile is easier to run; Mastodon needs more configuration.

Mastodon is growing faster right now (+139 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [Giraffile](https://selfhost.directory/project/giraffile) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/giraffile.md)
- [Mastodon](https://selfhost.directory/project/mastodon) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/mastodon.md)

---
Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/giraffile-vs-mastodon