# Mastodon vs nanobot

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

| | Mastodon | nanobot |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 82/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #8 of 209 in AI Agents |
| GitHub stars | 50 457 ✓ | 49 589 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +137 | +1 035 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 38 ✓ | 13 |
| Latest release | v4.4.26 · 1 Oct 2026 | v0.4.0 · 28 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Ruby | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

Mastodon and nanobot score the same (82/100), so the choice comes down to the details below.

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

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

nanobot is growing faster right now (+1 035 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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