MastodonvsOpenDesign
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Mastodon | OpenDesign | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 83/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #1 of 7 in Design |
| GitHub stars | 50 457 | 104 697 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +137 | +1 866 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 38 | 10 |
| Latest release | v4.4.26 · 1 Oct 2026 | open-design-v0.26.1 · 22 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Ruby | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
OpenDesign scores 83/100 against 82/100 for Mastodon, so it is the safer default.
Mastodon ships more often: 38 stable releases in the past year, against 10 for OpenDesign.
If you want the quickest setup, OpenDesign is easier to run; Mastodon needs more configuration.
OpenDesign is growing faster right now (+1 866 stars in 30 days).
Mastodon details →OpenDesign details →