Bloat vs diaspora*
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Bloat
Web client for Pleroma, Mitra and other Fediverse connected apps
VS
diaspora*
Privacy-focused decentralized social network
| Feature | Bloat | diaspora* |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | Unlicense | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 50 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | — | ★ 13,656 |
| First released | 2024 | 2010 |
| Replaces | — | Facebook, Twitter |
Why pick each one
Choose Bloat if…
- Released under the Unlicense license
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Bloat or diaspora* better?
Neither is universally better. diaspora* has the larger community, while Bloat is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Bloat and diaspora* free and open-source?
Yes. Bloat is licensed under Unlicense and diaspora* under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bloat and diaspora* with Docker?
Bloat: check the project docs for container support. diaspora*: yes.