# Guardian vs Mastodon

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

| | Guardian | Mastodon |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 41/100 | 82/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #95 of 118 in Media Server | #2 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums |
| GitHub stars | 174 | 50 457 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +0 | +137 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 13 | 38 ✓ |
| Latest release | v2.1.0 · 26 Oct 2026 ✓ | v4.4.26 · 1 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Ruby |

## Which one should you pick?

Mastodon scores 82/100 against 41/100 for Guardian, so it is the safer default.

Mastodon ships more often: 38 stable releases in the past year, against 13 for Guardian.

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

Mastodon is growing faster right now (+137 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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