# Mastodon vs media-journal

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

| | Mastodon | media-journal |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 ✓ | 45/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #97 of 142 in Media Management |
| GitHub stars | 50 457 ✓ | 138 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +137 ✓ | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 42 ✓ | 20 |
| Latest release | v4.4.27 · 29 Oct 2026 ✓ | v1.31.3 · 15 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Ruby | JavaScript |

## Which one should you pick?

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

Mastodon ships more often: 42 stable releases in the past year, against 20 for media-journal.

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

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

## Details

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

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/mastodon-vs-media-journal