Campfire 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?
| Feature | Campfire | diaspora* |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | free | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, one-click | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,471 | ★ 13,656 |
| First released | 2022 | 2010 |
| Replaces | — | Facebook, Twitter |
Why pick each one
Choose Campfire if…
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- One-click install on common self-host platforms
- Active community (4.5k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Campfire or diaspora* better?
Neither is universally better. diaspora* has the larger community, while Campfire is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Campfire and diaspora* free and open-source?
Yes. Campfire is licensed under free and diaspora* under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Campfire and diaspora* with Docker?
Campfire: yes. diaspora*: yes.