GitnessvsMastodon
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Gitness | Mastodon | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 80/100 | 82/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 14 in Code Hosting | #2 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums |
| GitHub stars | 38 746 | 50 456 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +319 | +137 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 6 | 38 |
| Latest release | v2.28.2 · 20 Apr 2026 | v4.4.26 · 1 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Easy | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Go | Ruby |
Which one should you pick?
Mastodon scores 82/100 against 80/100 for Gitness, so it is the safer default.
Mastodon ships more often: 38 stable releases in the past year, against 6 for Gitness.
If you want the quickest setup, Gitness is easier to run; Mastodon needs more configuration.
Gitness is growing faster right now (+319 stars in 30 days).
Gitness details →Mastodon details →