diaspora* vs Sharkey
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
Sharkey
Feature-rich Misskey fork for the fediverse
| Feature | diaspora* | Sharkey |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,656 | ★ 600 |
| First released | 2010 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Twitter | Twitter, Mastodon |
Why pick each one
Choose Sharkey if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is diaspora* or Sharkey better?
Neither is universally better. diaspora* has the larger community, while Sharkey is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are diaspora* and Sharkey free and open-source?
Yes. diaspora* is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Sharkey under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run diaspora* and Sharkey with Docker?
diaspora*: yes. Sharkey: yes.