diaspora* vs Gathio
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
Gathio
Simple, federated event hosting without accounts
| Feature | diaspora* | Gathio |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,656 | ★ 456 |
| First released | 2010 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Twitter | Facebook Events, Eventbrite |
Why pick each one
Choose Gathio if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is diaspora* or Gathio better?
Neither is universally better. diaspora* has the larger community, while Gathio is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are diaspora* and Gathio free and open-source?
Yes. diaspora* is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Gathio under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run diaspora* and Gathio with Docker?
diaspora*: yes. Gathio: yes.