MastodonvsPhoton
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Mastodon | Photon | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 54/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #16 of 85 in Feed Reader |
| GitHub stars | 50 457 | 557 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +137 | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 38 | 9 |
| Latest release | v4.4.26 · 1 Oct 2026 | v2.4.3 · 30 Jul 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Ruby | Svelte |
Which one should you pick?
Mastodon scores 82/100 against 54/100 for Photon, so it is the safer default.
Mastodon ships more often: 38 stable releases in the past year, against 9 for Photon.
If you want the quickest setup, Photon is easier to run; Mastodon needs more configuration.
Mastodon is growing faster right now (+137 stars in 30 days).
Mastodon details →Photon details →