Alternatives to Misskey
Feature-rich fediverse server with reactions, drive storage and theming. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Misskey
Feature-rich fediverse server with reactions, drive storage and theming.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Misskey.
Mastodon
Federated microblogging server with no algorithmic feed.
Mastodon is the more widely used fediverse server with chronological timelines and English-focused community, but it lacks Misskey's custom reactions, quotes, file drive and deep theming.
Pleroma
Lightweight fediverse server that runs on very modest hardware.
Pleroma is much lighter to run than Misskey on modest hardware and supports Mastodon apps, but it has fewer customisation features and less developed moderation tooling.
Friendica
Federated social platform that bridges to Mastodon, diaspora*, email and RSS.
Friendica is a self-hosted PHP platform that bridges Mastodon, diaspora*, email and RSS and adds groups and events, with a denser, dated interface compared with Misskey.
Bluesky
Decentralized Twitter-style network built on the open AT Protocol.
Bluesky is a free hosted network on the AT Protocol with Android and iOS apps and portable identity, but it is not open source and cannot be self-hosted easily.
diaspora*
Decentralised social network built on independently run pods.
diaspora* uses independently run pods with aspects for audience control, but it does not federate over ActivityPub and has low activity compared with newer networks.
Sharkey
A federated microblogging server forked from Misskey, with added features and a focus on performance.
Sharkey is a Misskey fork that tracks upstream while adding features and focusing on performance, but it has a smaller maintainer team.
Akkoma
A self-hostable ActivityPub microblogging server forked from Pleroma, focused on custom expression.
Akkoma is a Pleroma fork offering custom emoji reactions and Misskey-Flavoured Markdown, without Misskey's built-in file drive.
GoToSocial
A lightweight self-hosted ActivityPub social network server written in Go.
GoToSocial is a lightweight Go server for small groups, with a deliberately smaller feature set and safety-focused interaction controls.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Misskey as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Bonfire
An open-source, federated platform for building a community space that connects to the open social web.
Misskey is a feature-rich fediverse server with custom reactions, a file drive and per-instance theming, though it is heavier to run and documentation is mostly Japanese.
glitch-soc
A friendly fork of the Mastodon server software that adds experimental features on top of upstream.
Misskey offers custom reactions, quotes, a file drive and deep theming, but it is heavier to run and most documentation is in Japanese.
Hometown
A self-hosted fork of Mastodon that adds local-only posting for community-focused instances.
Misskey adds custom reactions, a file drive and deep per-instance theming, but it is heavier to run and support is mostly in Japanese.
Iceshrimp.NET
A self-hosted ActivityPub microblogging server written in C#, continuing the Iceshrimp project.
Misskey offers custom reactions, a built-in file drive and deep theming, but is heavier to run and most documentation is in Japanese.
Mitra
A self-hosted federated micro-blogging server written in Rust that connects to the fediverse over ActivityPub.
Misskey adds reactions, a file drive and deep theming, but it is heavier to run and most documentation is in Japanese.
Smithereen
A self-hosted federated social network server with friends, walls and groups, using ActivityPub.
Misskey provides custom reactions, a file drive and deep theming, but it is heavier to run and most of its documentation is in Japanese.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Pixelfed
Federated photo sharing platform with no ads or algorithm.
PeerTube
Federated video platform that shares bandwidth peer to peer.
Lemmy
Federated link aggregator and discussion platform.
Elk
A lightweight open-source web client for Mastodon that runs in the browser.
Fedilab
A multi-account Android client for Mastodon, Pleroma, Friendica, Pixelfed and PeerTube.
Tuba
A GTK desktop client for browsing and posting on Mastodon and the wider fediverse.
