# Mastodon vs penpot

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

| | Mastodon | penpot |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 84/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #2 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #1 of 30 in Collaboration |
| GitHub stars | 50 456 | 61 801 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +137 | +1 489 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 38 ✓ | 12 |
| Latest release | v4.4.26 · 1 Oct 2026 | 2.18.5 · 26 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Advanced | Advanced ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Main language | Ruby | Clojure |

## Which one should you pick?

penpot scores 84/100 against 82/100 for Mastodon, so it is the safer default.

Mastodon ships more often: 38 stable releases in the past year, against 12 for penpot.

penpot is growing faster right now (+1 489 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

## Related comparisons

- [OpenDesign vs penpot](https://selfhost.directory/compare/open-design-vs-penpot)

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