# Mastodon vs shm

> 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 | 50 460 ✓ | 165 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +140 ✓ | +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 (+140 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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