Writefreely Federated Blogging Platform - selfhosting vs managed costs

Approximate hosting cost estimations vs subscription.

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Here’s a quick info on Write.as / WriteFreely - how it fits into the fediverse, where to get managed hosting, what the usage trend looks like, and how to self-host (plus rough costings).

WriteFreely is the open-source engine for federated blogs. WriteFreely speaks ActivityPub, so posts can be followed from Mastodon and other fediverse apps when federation is enabled. Write.as is the commercial platform that offers WriteFreely as subscription or managed hosting service.

Core traits: minimalist, Markdown-friendly editor; single or multi-blog per account; can run as a small “Medium-like” community, but still connects to the wider fediverse.

writeFreely

Managed hosting options (current public prices)

  • WriteFreely.host (official) – shared hosting plans specifically for WriteFreely communities: • Village US$10/mo (up to 100 blogs) • Town US$20/mo (200 blogs) • City US$30/mo (300 blogs). Custom commercial/white-label and dedicated options are available on request. For single-user blogs, they point you to Write.as.
  • Write.as (personal/team blogs) – Pro starts “from US$6/mo” for an individual writer; Team/enterprise options available. (Pricing page is geo- and bot-protected, but the headline pricing is visible.)
  • Cloud68.co (partner provider) – managed WriteFreely with EU hosting. Starter €49/mo (up to 15 writers); enterprise is “on-demand.” Page updated 03-Oct-2025.
  • K&T Host – advertises WriteFreely hosting and support with plans “from US$3.75/mo.” (Independent provider; check the fine print and SLAs.)

Tip: WriteFreely lists partner hosts to give you a choice beyond the official offering.

Approximate active-user trend (WriteFreely across the fediverse)

There isn’t a single canonical counter (not all servers report stats), but two public trackers give a sense of scale:

  • The Federation / NodeInfo shows instance-level charts (users total vs. monthly active per node) and aggregated WriteFreely stats. Useful for directional trends rather than absolute totals.
  • libera.site (WriteFreely statistics) publishes rolling snapshots. Example: 12-Mar-2025 showed ~900 active instances and ~446k accounts across reporting WriteFreely servers. Numbers fluctuate as instances appear/disappear or change reporting.

Broader fediverse totals (all software) are much larger, so expect WriteFreely to remain a small but steady slice.

How to self-host WriteFreely (two common routes)

A) Bare-metal / VM (SQLite or MySQL/MariaDB)

  1. Provision a server ([Linux(https://www.glukhov.org/post/2025/07/install-linux-ubuntu-24-04/ “Howto Install of the Ubuntu 24.04”) x86_64/ARM; 1 vCPU, 1GB RAM is fine for small sites). Download the prebuilt WriteFreely binary.

  2. Create the config:

    writefreely config start
writefreely keys generate

    Choose SQLite (simpler) or MySQL/MariaDB (better for multi-user communities).

  3. First run & admin: initialize DB (if using MySQL), then start the app and create your admin. (Docs show the exact prompts/flags.)

  4. Reverse proxy & TLS: put Nginx/Apache or Caddy in front; issue a Let’s Encrypt cert.

  5. Email (password resets, notifications):

    • v0.15 notes: Mailgun only; next releases add SMTP. Current docs now list SMTP or Mailgun configuration. Check your version.

  6. Systemd service for auto-start on boot. (Any standard service template works; community guides provide examples.)

B) Docker / Compose

  • Official docs cover Docker caveats; several community images/compose files provide production templates (app + MySQL + reverse proxy).

Rough self-hosting costs (small community)

(Ballpark, not endorsements; pick regions/providers that suit you.)

  • VPS: €5–€8/mo for a 1vCPU/2GB RAM class instance (e.g., Hetzner Cloud entry plans). Scale up for heavier multi-user communities.

  • Storage & backups: €1–€5/mo extra if you add provider snapshots/object storage (varies by host).

  • Domain: ~US$10–US$20/year with most registrars (varies by TLD). (General market range; confirm with your registrar.)

  • Email relay (if you enable email features):

    • Postmark commonly used for transactional mail: US$15/mo for 10k emails; updated pricing in 2025 keeps entry tier at $15.
    • Mailgun pricing changed over the years; PAYG/Flex has been in flux—expect paid plans rather than a free tier, with some sources quoting sub-$1 per 1k emails where PAYG exists. Check current plan details before committing.

Minimal single-author blog: you can run SQLite with a small VPS and skip email (or use your mail provider’s SMTP once your WF version supports it). Small multi-user communities benefit from MySQL/MariaDB; MySQL runs fine on low-memory VMs with conservative configs.

Quick compare: managed vs. self-host

  • Managed: fastest start, predictable cost; official WriteFreely.host from US$10/mo (100 blogs) is hard to beat for small communities.
  • Self-host: more control; expect ~€5–€15/mo all-in for a tiny instance (plus your time), rising with traffic, storage, backups, and email needs.