# Mastodon vs ruTorrent

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

| | Mastodon | ruTorrent |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 ✓ | 62/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #4 of 12 in Bittorrent |
| GitHub stars | 50 457 ✓ | 2 188 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +137 ✓ | +9 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 38 ✓ | 20 |
| Latest release | v4.4.26 · 1 Oct 2026 | v5.3.19 · 24 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Advanced | Advanced ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Other |
| Main language | Ruby | PHP |

## Which one should you pick?

Mastodon scores 82/100 against 62/100 for ruTorrent, so it is the safer default.

Mastodon ships more often: 38 stable releases in the past year, against 20 for ruTorrent.

Mastodon is growing faster right now (+137 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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