diaspora* vs Friendica
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Friendica
Decentralized social network with broad federation
| Feature | diaspora* | Friendica |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 89 · Excellent | 84 · Excellent |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,649 | ★ 1,690 |
| First released | 2010 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Twitter | Facebook, Twitter |
What are diaspora* and Friendica?
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
Friendica
Friendica is a free, open-source decentralized social network. It connects to the fediverse and other networks, offering a Facebook-style experience with groups, photos, and events.
- Federates with many networks
- Groups and forums
- Photo albums and events
- Addon system
diaspora* vs Friendica: key differences
Diaspora* is written in Ruby, while Friendica is built with PHP. Friendica is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for diaspora*. Diaspora* has the considerably larger community, at 13,649 GitHub stars versus 1,690.
Why pick each one
Choose diaspora* if…
- Strong privacy ethos
- Established network
Watch out for
- Limited fediverse interoperability
- Slower development
Choose Friendica if…
- Connects to multiple protocols
- Facebook-like experience
Watch out for
- Dated interface
- Smaller user base
Frequently asked questions
Is diaspora* or Friendica better?
Neither is universally better. diaspora* has the larger community, while Friendica is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are diaspora* and Friendica free and open-source?
Yes. diaspora* is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Friendica under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run diaspora* and Friendica with Docker?
diaspora*: yes. Friendica: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, diaspora* or Friendica?
Friendica 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.