diaspora* vs Hubzilla
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Hubzilla
Decentralized identity and social platform
| Feature | diaspora* | Hubzilla |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Ruby | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,649 | ★ 380 |
| First released | 2010 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Twitter | Facebook, Google+ |
What are diaspora* and Hubzilla?
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
Hubzilla
Hubzilla is a free, open-source platform for creating interconnected websites with decentralized identity, social networking, file storage, and content management features.
- Nomadic decentralized identity
- Social networking and CMS
- Cloud file storage
- Fine-grained permissions
diaspora* vs Hubzilla: key differences
Diaspora* is written in Ruby, while Hubzilla is built with PHP. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for diaspora* versus MIT for Hubzilla. Hubzilla is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for diaspora*. Diaspora* is the more established project (first released 2010), while Hubzilla arrived in 2015. Diaspora* has the considerably larger community, at 13,649 GitHub stars versus 380.
Why pick each one
Choose diaspora* if…
- Strong privacy ethos
- Established network
Watch out for
- Limited fediverse interoperability
- Slower development
Choose Hubzilla if…
- Unique nomadic identity
- Very feature-rich
Watch out for
- Complex to learn
- Niche community
Frequently asked questions
Is diaspora* or Hubzilla better?
Neither is universally better. diaspora* has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are diaspora* and Hubzilla free and open-source?
Yes. diaspora* is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Hubzilla under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run diaspora* and Hubzilla with Docker?
diaspora*: yes. Hubzilla: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, diaspora* or Hubzilla?
Hubzilla 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.