# Mastodon vs piclaw

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

| | Mastodon | piclaw |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 ✓ | 53/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #26 of 120 in AI Assistant |
| GitHub stars | 50 459 ✓ | 886 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +139 ✓ | +1 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 42 ✓ | 27 |
| Latest release | v4.4.27 · 29 Oct 2026 ✓ | v3.3.4 · 15 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Ruby | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

Mastodon scores 82/100 against 53/100 for piclaw, so it is the safer default.

Mastodon ships more often: 42 stable releases in the past year, against 27 for piclaw.

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

Mastodon is growing faster right now (+139 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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