diaspora* vs OSSN
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
OSSN
Social networking software that allows you to make a social networking
| Feature | diaspora* | OSSN |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | CAL-1.0 |
| Language | Ruby | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,656 | ★ 1,236 |
| First released | 2010 | 2026 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Twitter | — |
Why pick each one
Choose OSSN if…
- Released under the CAL-1.0 license
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is diaspora* or OSSN better?
Neither is universally better. diaspora* has the larger community, while OSSN is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are diaspora* and OSSN free and open-source?
Yes. diaspora* is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and OSSN under CAL-1.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run diaspora* and OSSN with Docker?
diaspora*: yes. OSSN: check the project docs for container support.