diaspora* vs Epicyon
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?
diaspora*
Privacy-focused decentralized social network
VS
Epicyon
Minimalist ActivityPub server for the fediverse
| Feature | diaspora* | Epicyon |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,656 | ★ 300 |
| First released | 2010 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Twitter | Twitter, Mastodon |
Why pick each one
Choose Epicyon if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is diaspora* or Epicyon better?
Neither is universally better. diaspora* has the larger community, while Epicyon is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are diaspora* and Epicyon free and open-source?
Yes. diaspora* is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Epicyon under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run diaspora* and Epicyon with Docker?
diaspora*: yes. Epicyon: check the project docs for container support.