Self-hosted alternatives to Tumblr
Want social blogging without handing your data to Tumblr? These 30 self-hosted apps run on your own server. Cheapest estimated hosting starts at about $3.5/month.
About Tumblr: Microblogging and social blogging platform owned by Automattic.
| App | Health | Stars | License | Docker | RAM (est.) | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghost | Active | 55.7k | MIT | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Mastodon | Active | 50.5k | AGPL-3.0 | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Lemmy | Active | 14.7k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Misskey | Active | 11.4k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| PixelFed | Active | 7.1k | AGPL-3.0 | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| HumHub | Active | 6.8k | AGPL-3.0 | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| remark42 | Active | 5.6k | MIT | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| WriteFreely | Active | 5.3k | AGPL-3.0 | – | 512 MB | $3.5/mo |
| Movim | Active | 2.1k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| diaspora* | Maintained | 13.7k | AGPL-3.0 | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Friendica | Active | 1.7k | AGPL-3.0 | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Elgg | Active | 1.7k | GPL-2.0 | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| OSSN | Active | 1.3k | CAL-1.0 | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Scoold | Active | 920 | Apache-2.0 | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Haven | Active | 813 | MIT | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| GoToSocial | Active | 697 | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Chyrp Lite | Active | 498 | BSD-3-Clause | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Socialhome | Active | 379 | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Mataroa | Active | 375 | MIT | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| bloglite | Active | 337 | MIT | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| HTMLy | Maintained | 1.4k | GPL-2.0 | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Known | Maintained | 1.1k | Apache-2.0 | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| PieFed | Active | 267 | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| BuddyPress | Active | 258 | GPL-2.0 | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Hatsu | Active | 258 | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Serendipity | Active | 229 | BSD-3-Clause | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| FlatPress | Active | 218 | GPL-2.0 | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Antville | Active | 90 | Apache-2.0 | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Akkoma | Active | 71 | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| PluXml | Maintained | 233 | GPL-3.0 | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
The options in detail
1. Ghost
Just a blogging platform.
Active Last commit 2026-11-05. Latest release v6.75.0 (2026-11-04). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
2. Mastodon
Federated microblogging server.
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. Latest release v5.0.0-beta.1 (2026-11-04). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
3. Lemmy
Link aggregator for the fediverse (alternative to Reddit).
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. Latest release 1.0.0-beta.3 (2026-10-29). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
4. Misskey
Decentralized app-like microblogging server/SNS for the Fediverse, using the ActivityPub protocol like GNU social and Mastodon.
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. Latest release 2026.10.2-alpha.0 (2026-10-31). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
5. PixelFed
Ethical photo sharing platform, powered by ActivityPub federation (alternative to Instagram).
Active Last commit 2026-11-05. Latest release v0.15.2 (2026-10-21). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
6. HumHub
Flexible kit for private social networks.
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. Latest release v1.19.3 (2026-10-27). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
7. remark42
Lightweight and simple comment engine, which doesn't spy on users. It can be embedded into blogs, articles or any other place where readers add comments.
Active Last commit 2026-11-02. Latest release v1.18.0 (2026-10-11). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
8. WriteFreely
Writing software for starting a minimalist, federated blog — or an entire community.
Active Last commit 2026-09-28. Latest release v0.17.2 (2026-08-10). Needs roughly 512 MB RAM. How to run it →
9. Movim
Modern, federated social network based on XMPP, with a fully featured group-chat, subscriptions and microblogging.
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. Latest release v0.35.5 (2026-11-04). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
10. diaspora*
Distributed social networking server.
Maintained Last commit 2026-07-28. 1 release in the past year. Latest release v0.9.1.0 (2026-04-07). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
11. Friendica
Social Communication Server.
Active Last commit 2026-11-03. 3 releases in the past year. Latest release 2026.05-1 (2026-05-21). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
12. Elgg
Powerful social networking engine.
Active Last commit 2026-11-03. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release 7.1.2 (2026-10-21). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
13. OSSN
Social networking software that allows you to make a social networking website and helps your members build social relationships, with people who share similar professional or personal interests.
Active Last commit 2026-10-18. Latest release 10.1 (2026-10-01). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
14. Scoold
Stack Overflow in a JAR. An enterprise-ready Q&A platform with full-text search, SAML, LDAP integration and social login support.
Active Last commit 2026-11-03. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release 1.70.2 (2026-09-21). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
15. Haven
Private blogging system with markdown editing and built in RSS reader.
Active Last commit 2026-10-03. Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
16. GoToSocial
ActivityPub federated social network server implementing the Mastodon client API.
Active Last commit 2026-11-03. 17 releases in the past year. Latest release v0.22.3 (2026-10-21). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
17. Chyrp Lite
Extra-awesome, extra-lightweight blog engine.
Active Last commit 2026-10-31. Latest release v2026.03 (2026-11-01). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
19. Mataroa
Naked blogging platform for minimalists.
Active Last commit 2026-11-02. Latest release v1.5 (2026-01-03). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
20. bloglite
Micro-blog tool offering built-in syntax highlighting, mobile publishing and more (alternative to Twitter, Bluesky).
Active Last commit 2026-10-31. Latest release v3.1.0 (2026-10-24). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
21. HTMLy
Databaseless PHP blogging platform. A flat-file CMS that allows you to create a fast, secure, and powerful website or blog in seconds.
Maintained Last commit 2026-01-25. 1 release in the past year. Latest release v3.1.1 (2025-11-03). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
22. Known
Collaborative social publishing platform.
Maintained Last commit 2026-04-12. Latest release 1.6.4 (2026-03-01). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
23. PieFed
Link aggregator / reddit clone for the fediverse (alternative to Reddit).
Active Last commit 2026-11-05. 50+ releases in the past year. Latest release v1.7.19 (2026-11-04). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
24. BuddyPress
Powerful plugin that takes your WordPress.org powered site beyond the blog with social-network features like user profiles, activity streams, user groups, and more.
Active Last commit 2026-11-03. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release 14.5.4 (2026-10-23). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
25. Hatsu
Bridge that interacts with Fediverse on behalf of your static site.
Active Last commit 2026-10-01. Latest release v0.3.5 (2026-10-01). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
26. Serendipity
Highly extensible and customizable PHP blog engine using Smarty templating (s9y).
Active Last commit 2026-09-12. Latest release 2.6.1 (2026-07-22). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
27. FlatPress
Lightweight, easy-to-set-up flat-file blogging engine.
Active Last commit 2026-11-03. 4 releases in the past year. Latest release 1.5.1 (2026-03-24). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
28. Antville
Feature-rich blog hosting software which can host tens of thousands of blogs.
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. Latest release 1.6.0 (2025-03-01). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
29. Akkoma
Federated microblogging server with Mastodon, GNU social, and ActivityPub compatibility.
Active Last commit 2026-10-30. 6 releases in the past year. Latest release v3.20.1 (2026-09-27). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
30. PluXml
XML-based blog/CMS platform.
Maintained Last commit 2026-08-03. Latest release v5.10.0.rc4 (2026-09-12). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
Why self-host instead of Tumblr?
- Own your data — it lives on a server you control, with backups you decide on.
- Predictable cost — a small VPS often replaces per-seat pricing for a whole team or family.
- No lock-in — open-source licenses let you keep running the software even if a vendor disappears.
The trade-off: you are responsible for updates, backups and security. Pick an app marked Active (a commit in the last 90 days) and with Docker support for the easiest ride.
Browse related categories
Other alternatives guides
Tumblr is a trademark of its owner; this site is not affiliated with it. Listings come from the community-maintained awesome-selfhosted list.
18. Socialhome
Federated and decentralized profile builder and social network engine.
Active Last commit 2026-10-29. Latest release v0.9.3 (2018-08-29). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →