Buddycloud vs Elgg
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Buddycloud | Elgg |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 2 · At risk | 85 · Excellent |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Java | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 70 | ★ 1,678 |
| First released | 2012 | 2004 |
| Replaces | Facebook Groups | Facebook Groups, Yammer |
What are Buddycloud and Elgg?
Buddycloud
Buddycloud is a federated communication platform built on XMPP that provides topic channels, presence, and social media features. It allows organizations to run their own decentralized social network.
- Federated XMPP social channels
- Decentralized topic feeds
- Self-hosted social networking
Elgg
Elgg is an open-source rapid development framework for socially aware web applications. It provides the building blocks for custom social networks, intranets, and community sites.
- Social networking framework
- Plugin-based extensibility
- Activity streams
- Groups and friend networks
Buddycloud vs Elgg: key differences
Buddycloud is written in Java, while Elgg is built with PHP. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Buddycloud versus GPL-2.0 for Elgg. Elgg is the more established project (first released 2004), while Buddycloud arrived in 2012. Elgg has the considerably larger community, at 1,678 GitHub stars versus 70. Elgg lists first-class Docker deployment; Buddycloud does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Buddycloud if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Written in Java
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose Elgg if…
- Flexible for custom networks
- Mature codebase
Watch out for
- Requires development work
- Niche community
Frequently asked questions
Is Buddycloud or Elgg better?
Elgg is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Buddycloud if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Buddycloud and Elgg free and open-source?
Yes. Buddycloud is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Elgg under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Buddycloud and Elgg with Docker?
Buddycloud: check the project docs for container support. Elgg: yes.