Bridgy Fed vs diaspora*
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Bridgy Fed | diaspora* |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 79 · Good | 89 · Excellent |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | Unlicense | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,238 | ★ 13,649 |
| First released | 2017 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Twitter |
What are Bridgy Fed and diaspora*?
Bridgy Fed
Bridgy Fed connects personal websites that use IndieWeb standards to the fediverse and the rest of the social web. It translates webmentions and ActivityPub so different networks can interact.
- Connects IndieWeb to fediverse
- Webmention translation
- ActivityPub bridging
- Cross-network interaction
diaspora*
diaspora* is a free, open-source, privacy-aware decentralized social network. It is organized into independently operated pods that federate, giving users ownership of their data.
- Federated pod network
- Aspects for sharing control
- Hashtag-based discovery
- Data ownership focus
Bridgy Fed vs diaspora*: key differences
Bridgy Fed is written in Python, while diaspora* is built with Ruby. Licensing differs — Unlicense for Bridgy Fed versus AGPL-3.0 for diaspora*. Bridgy Fed is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for diaspora*. Diaspora* is the more established project (first released 2010), while Bridgy Fed arrived in 2017. Diaspora* has the considerably larger community, at 13,649 GitHub stars versus 1,238. Diaspora* lists first-class Docker deployment; Bridgy Fed does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Bridgy Fed if…
- Released under the Unlicense license
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose diaspora* if…
- Strong privacy ethos
- Established network
Watch out for
- Limited fediverse interoperability
- Slower development
Frequently asked questions
Is Bridgy Fed or diaspora* better?
Neither is universally better. diaspora* has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Bridgy Fed and diaspora* free and open-source?
Yes. Bridgy Fed is licensed under Unlicense and diaspora* under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bridgy Fed and diaspora* with Docker?
Bridgy Fed: check the project docs for container support. diaspora*: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Bridgy Fed or diaspora*?
Bridgy Fed has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for diaspora*. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.