diaspora* vs Smithereen
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | diaspora* | Smithereen |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 89 · Excellent | 80 · Excellent |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,649 | ★ 546 |
| First released | 2010 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Twitter | Facebook, VK |
What are diaspora* and Smithereen?
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
Smithereen
Smithereen is a federated, ActivityPub-powered social network whose interface is inspired by classic social media layouts. It supports friends, walls, photo albums, and groups across the fediverse.
- Classic social layout
- Friend and wall model
- Photo albums
- Fediverse groups
diaspora* vs Smithereen: key differences
Diaspora* is written in Ruby, while Smithereen is built with Java. Diaspora* is the more established project (first released 2010), while Smithereen arrived in 2020. Diaspora* has the considerably larger community, at 13,649 GitHub stars versus 546.
Why pick each one
Choose diaspora* if…
- Strong privacy ethos
- Established network
Watch out for
- Limited fediverse interoperability
- Slower development
Choose Smithereen if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Java
Frequently asked questions
Is diaspora* or Smithereen better?
Neither is universally better. diaspora* has the larger community, while Smithereen is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are diaspora* and Smithereen free and open-source?
Yes. diaspora* is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Smithereen under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run diaspora* and Smithereen with Docker?
diaspora*: yes. Smithereen: yes.