diaspora* vs Osada
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | diaspora* | Osada |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| 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 | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,649 | ★ 20 |
| First released | 2010 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Twitter | Facebook, Twitter |
What are diaspora* and Osada?
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
Osada
Osada is a decentralized social networking server that speaks the ActivityPub protocol while incorporating nomadic identity concepts from the Zot ecosystem. It federates with Mastodon and other fediverse software.
- ActivityPub social server
- Nomadic identity features
- Federates with the fediverse
diaspora* vs Osada: key differences
Diaspora* is written in Ruby, while Osada is built with PHP. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for diaspora* versus MIT for Osada. Osada 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 Osada arrived in 2018. Diaspora* has the considerably larger community, at 13,649 GitHub stars versus 20. Diaspora* lists first-class Docker deployment; Osada does not.
Why pick each one
Choose diaspora* if…
- Strong privacy ethos
- Established network
Watch out for
- Limited fediverse interoperability
- Slower development
Choose Osada if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in PHP
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is diaspora* or Osada 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 Osada free and open-source?
Yes. diaspora* is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Osada under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run diaspora* and Osada with Docker?
diaspora*: yes. Osada: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, diaspora* or Osada?
Osada 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.