diaspora* vs Pleroma
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Pleroma
Lightweight fediverse microblogging server
| Feature | diaspora* | Pleroma |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | Elixir |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,649 | ★ 2,200 |
| First released | 2010 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Twitter | Twitter, Tumblr |
What are diaspora* and Pleroma?
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
Pleroma
Pleroma is a lightweight, free, open-source social networking server compatible with the fediverse. It implements ActivityPub and the Mastodon API while using fewer resources than Mastodon.
- ActivityPub federation
- Mastodon API compatible
- Low resource footprint
- Multiple frontends supported
diaspora* vs Pleroma: key differences
Diaspora* is written in Ruby, while Pleroma is built with Elixir. Pleroma 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 Pleroma arrived in 2017. Diaspora* has the considerably larger community, at 13,649 GitHub stars versus 2,200.
Why pick each one
Choose diaspora* if…
- Strong privacy ethos
- Established network
Watch out for
- Limited fediverse interoperability
- Slower development
Choose Pleroma if…
- Runs on small servers
- Compatible with Mastodon apps
Watch out for
- Smaller community
- Less polished admin tools
Frequently asked questions
Is diaspora* or Pleroma better?
Neither is universally better. diaspora* has the larger community, while Pleroma is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are diaspora* and Pleroma free and open-source?
Yes. diaspora* is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Pleroma under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run diaspora* and Pleroma with Docker?
diaspora*: yes. Pleroma: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, diaspora* or Pleroma?
Pleroma 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.