diaspora* vs pump.io
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | diaspora* | pump.io |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 89 · Excellent | 48 · Fair |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Ruby | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,649 | ★ 2,237 |
| First released | 2010 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Twitter |
What are diaspora* and pump.io?
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
pump.io
pump.io is a stream server that lets users post activities to their followers and to the web, implementing the Activity Streams format. It can be self-hosted as a personal social networking node.
- Activity Streams social server
- Personal social networking node
- Federation support
diaspora* vs pump.io: key differences
Diaspora* is written in Ruby, while pump.io is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for diaspora* versus Apache-2.0 for pump.io. Pump.io is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for diaspora*. Diaspora* is the more established project (first released 2010), while pump.io arrived in 2013. Diaspora* has the considerably larger community, at 13,649 GitHub stars versus 2,237. Diaspora* lists first-class Docker deployment; pump.io does not.
Why pick each one
Choose diaspora* if…
- Strong privacy ethos
- Established network
Watch out for
- Limited fediverse interoperability
- Slower development
Choose pump.io if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Active community (2.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is diaspora* or pump.io better?
Neither is universally better. diaspora* has the larger community, while pump.io is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are diaspora* and pump.io free and open-source?
Yes. diaspora* is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and pump.io under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run diaspora* and pump.io with Docker?
diaspora*: yes. pump.io: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, diaspora* or pump.io?
pump.io has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for diaspora*. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.