head to head · open source
Mastodon vs Loops
Mastodon has 50,465 GitHub stars, 7,536 forks, 4,525 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Loops has 465 stars, 63 forks, 42 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Mastodon leads on adoption by 10,753% (50,465 vs 465 stars). Mastodon is written in Ruby under AGPL-3.0; Loops is written in PHP under AGPL-3.0. Mastodon has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, Loops 14%. Mastodon was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (activitypub, social-network), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Mastodon | Loops | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 50K | ★ 465 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Ruby | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.5K | ⑂ 63 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Mastodon if
- You weight community size — 50K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Ruby
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Loops if
- You want the Loops feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and Loops fits your workflow better
About Mastodon
[!NOTE] Want to learn more about Mastodon? Click below to find out more in a video. Mastodon is a free, open source social network server based on ActivityPub where users can follow friends and discover new ones. On Mastodon, users can publish anything they want: links, pictures, text, and video. All Mastodon servers are interoperable as a federated network (users on one server can seamlessly communicate with users from another one, including non Mastodon software that implements ActivityPub!) Navigation Project homepage 🐘 Donate to support development 🎁 View sponsors Blog 📰 Documentation 📚 Official…
read the full Mastodon overview →
About Loops
Loops The short video sharing platform for the social web. Federated, open source, creator friendly, and powered by ActivityPub . Website · API Documentation · Installation · Server List About Loops Loops is a federated, open source platform for sharing short videos. It gives creators and communities a modern short video experience without locking them into a centralized platform. This repository contains the Loops server and web application. Communities can operate their own Loops instance while connecting with people across Loops, Pixelfed, Mastodon, and other compatible ActivityPub platforms. Highlights…
read the full Loops overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Mastodon or Loops more popular?
Mastodon has 50,465 GitHub stars and Loops has 465. Mastodon has the larger community by that measure.
Are Mastodon and Loops free?
Both are open source. Mastodon is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Loops under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Mastodon and Loops?
Mastodon is written in Ruby and Loops in PHP. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Mastodon or Loops?
Choose Mastodon if you want the larger community (50,465 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Loops if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.