Campsite 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 | Campsite | Elgg |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 30 · At risk | 85 · Excellent |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,826 | ★ 1,678 |
| First released | 2024 | 2004 |
| Replaces | Yammer, Workplace | Facebook Groups, Yammer |
What are Campsite and Elgg?
Campsite
A self-hosted space for teams to post updates, discussions, and announcements in an asynchronous social feed. It mixes lightweight social interaction with organized channels for work communication.
- Async team feed
- Organized channels
- Posts and discussions
- Self-hosted control
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
Campsite vs Elgg: key differences
Campsite is written in TypeScript, while Elgg is built with PHP. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Campsite versus GPL-2.0 for Elgg. Elgg is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Campsite. Elgg is the more established project (first released 2004), while Campsite arrived in 2024. Campsite has the considerably larger community, at 4,826 GitHub stars versus 1,678.
Why pick each one
Choose Campsite if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (4.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Choose Elgg if…
- Flexible for custom networks
- Mature codebase
Watch out for
- Requires development work
- Niche community
Frequently asked questions
Is Campsite or Elgg better?
Neither is universally better. Campsite has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Campsite and Elgg free and open-source?
Yes. Campsite is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Elgg under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Campsite and Elgg with Docker?
Campsite: yes. Elgg: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Campsite or Elgg?
Elgg has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Campsite. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.