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.
| Feature | diaspora* | Sharkey |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| 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 | ★ 13,649 | ★ 600 |
| First released | 2010 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Twitter | Twitter, Mastodon |
What are diaspora* and Sharkey?
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
Sharkey
Sharkey is a feature-rich fork of Misskey that adds quote posts, improved moderation, and additional customization for fediverse instances. It supports a rich timeline with reactions and drive file storage.
- Quote posts and reactions
- Drive file storage
- Extensive customization
- Improved moderation
diaspora* vs Sharkey: key differences
Diaspora* is written in Ruby, while Sharkey is built with TypeScript. Diaspora* is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Sharkey. Diaspora* is the more established project (first released 2010), while Sharkey arrived in 2023. Diaspora* has the considerably larger community, at 13,649 GitHub stars versus 600.
Why pick each one
Choose diaspora* if…
- Strong privacy ethos
- Established network
Watch out for
- Limited fediverse interoperability
- Slower development
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.
Which is lighter on resources, diaspora* or Sharkey?
diaspora* has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Sharkey. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.