Alternatives to Sharkey
A federated microblogging server forked from Misskey, with added features and a focus on performance. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Sharkey
A federated microblogging server forked from Misskey, with added features and a focus on performance.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Sharkey.
Misskey
Feature-rich fediverse server with reactions, drive storage and theming.
Misskey is the upstream project Sharkey forks, with reactions, drive storage and theming, but heavier to run and mostly documented in Japanese.
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, federating with Mastodon and other ActivityPub software.
Iceshrimp.NET
A self-hosted ActivityPub microblogging server written in C#, continuing the Iceshrimp project.
Iceshrimp.NET is a new C# codebase focused on performance and stability that works with existing Mastodon client apps.
Mastodon
Federated microblogging server with no algorithmic feed.
Mastodon is the largest fediverse server with chronological timelines, but lacks Misskey-style reactions, quotes and a built-in file drive.
Pleroma
Lightweight fediverse server that runs on very modest hardware.
Pleroma runs on very modest hardware with a Mastodon-compatible API, but has slower releases and less developed moderation tooling.
glitch-soc
A friendly fork of the Mastodon server software that adds experimental features on top of upstream.
glitch-soc adds formatted posts, local-only posts and theming flavours on top of Mastodon, installed the same way as upstream.
GoToSocial
A lightweight self-hosted ActivityPub social network server written in Go.
GoToSocial is a lightweight Go server for small groups with fewer features by design and safety-focused interaction controls.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Sharkey as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Hometown
A self-hosted fork of Mastodon that adds local-only posting for community-focused instances.
Sharkey is a Misskey fork with added features and a performance focus, federating with Mastodon, Akkoma and Pixelfed but maintained by a small team.
Mitra
A self-hosted federated micro-blogging server written in Rust that connects to the fediverse over ActivityPub.
Sharkey is a Misskey fork with extra features and a performance focus, maintained by a small team and federating with Mastodon and Akkoma.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Pixelfed
Federated photo sharing platform with no ads or algorithm.
Whalebird
A single-column desktop client for Mastodon, Pleroma, Friendica and other fediverse accounts.
Feditext
A free, open source iOS client for Mastodon and Mastodon-compatible fediverse servers.
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.
