Mastodonvsshm
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Mastodon | shm | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 45/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #77 of 104 in Monitoring & observability |
| GitHub stars | 50 459 | 165 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +139 | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 42 | 9 |
| Latest release | v4.4.27 · 29 Oct 2026 | v1.2.7 · 29 Jul 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Ruby | Go |
Which one should you pick?
Mastodon scores 82/100 against 45/100 for shm, so it is the safer default.
Mastodon ships more often: 42 stable releases in the past year, against 9 for shm.
If you want the quickest setup, shm is easier to run; Mastodon needs more configuration.
Mastodon is growing faster right now (+139 stars in 30 days).
Mastodon details →shm details →