# Mastodon vs Show Me The Story

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

| | Mastodon | Show Me The Story |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 ✓ | 47/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #47 of 81 in Notes & Editors |
| GitHub stars | 50 457 ✓ | 631 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +138 | — |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 38 ✓ | 10 |
| Latest release | v4.4.26 · 1 Oct 2026 | v4.0.2 · 4 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Ruby | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

Mastodon scores 82/100 against 47/100 for Show Me The Story, so it is the safer default.

Mastodon ships more often: 38 stable releases in the past year, against 10 for Show Me The Story.

If you want the quickest setup, Show Me The Story is easier to run; Mastodon needs more configuration.

Mastodon is growing faster right now (+138 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [Mastodon](https://selfhost.directory/project/mastodon) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/mastodon.md)
- [Show Me The Story](https://selfhost.directory/project/show-me-the-story) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/show-me-the-story.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/mastodon-vs-show-me-the-story