diaspora* vs snac
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | diaspora* | snac |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Ruby | C |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,649 | ★ 900 |
| First released | 2010 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Twitter | Twitter, Mastodon |
What are diaspora* and snac?
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
snac
snac is a minimalist, lightweight ActivityPub instance server written in C with very low resource requirements. It implements the core fediverse features without a database or heavy runtime.
- Tiny C implementation
- No database needed
- ActivityPub federation
- Runs on minimal hardware
diaspora* vs snac: key differences
Diaspora* is written in Ruby, while snac is built with C. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for diaspora* versus MIT for snac. Snac is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for diaspora*. Diaspora* is the more established project (first released 2010), while snac arrived in 2022. Diaspora* has the considerably larger community, at 13,649 GitHub stars versus 900. Diaspora* lists first-class Docker deployment; snac does not.
Why pick each one
Choose diaspora* if…
- Strong privacy ethos
- Established network
Watch out for
- Limited fediverse interoperability
- Slower development
Choose snac if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is diaspora* or snac better?
Neither is universally better. diaspora* has the larger community, while snac is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are diaspora* and snac free and open-source?
Yes. diaspora* is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and snac under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run diaspora* and snac with Docker?
diaspora*: yes. snac: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, diaspora* or snac?
snac has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for diaspora*. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.