Friendiqa Hub vs Pixelfed
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Pixelfed
Federated photo-sharing social platform
| Feature | Friendiqa Hub | Pixelfed |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 130 | ★ 7,107 |
| First released | 2019 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Instagram, Flickr |
What are Friendiqa Hub and Pixelfed?
Friendiqa Hub
PeerTube-adjacent social discovery is provided by Anfora, a federated, open-source photo gallery and microblog focused on image sharing across the fediverse via ActivityPub.
- Federated photo sharing
- ActivityPub support
- Image-focused timeline
- Tagging and discovery
Pixelfed
Pixelfed is a free, open-source, federated image-sharing platform. It offers an Instagram-like experience with photo feeds, stories, and collections that federate via ActivityPub.
- Photo feeds and stories
- ActivityPub federation
- Collections and albums
- Official mobile apps
Friendiqa Hub vs Pixelfed: key differences
Friendiqa Hub is written in Python, while Pixelfed is built with PHP. Friendiqa Hub is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Pixelfed. Pixelfed has the considerably larger community, at 7,107 GitHub stars versus 130.
Why pick each one
Choose Friendiqa Hub if…
- Image-first fediverse app
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- Very small project
- Limited maintenance
Choose Pixelfed if…
- Instagram-like experience
- No ads or tracking
Watch out for
- Setup is involved
- Smaller network than Instagram
Frequently asked questions
Is Friendiqa Hub or Pixelfed better?
Neither is universally better. Pixelfed has the larger community, while Friendiqa Hub is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Friendiqa Hub and Pixelfed free and open-source?
Yes. Friendiqa Hub is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Pixelfed under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Friendiqa Hub and Pixelfed with Docker?
Friendiqa Hub: yes. Pixelfed: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Friendiqa Hub or Pixelfed?
Friendiqa Hub has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Pixelfed. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.