diaspora* vs ActivityPub for WordPress
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | diaspora* | ActivityPub for WordPress |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 89 · Excellent | 80 · Excellent |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Ruby | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,648 | ★ 583 |
| First released | 2010 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Twitter | Twitter, Medium |
What are diaspora* and ActivityPub for WordPress?
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
ActivityPub for WordPress
The ActivityPub plugin lets a self-hosted WordPress site federate with the fediverse, so people can follow blog posts from Mastodon and other ActivityPub software. It also delivers comments back as replies.
- Federates WordPress posts
- Follow blogs from Mastodon
- Comments as replies
- Official Automattic plugin
diaspora* vs ActivityPub for WordPress: key differences
Diaspora* is written in Ruby, while ActivityPub for WordPress is built with PHP. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for diaspora* versus MIT for ActivityPub for WordPress. ActivityPub for WordPress 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 ActivityPub for WordPress arrived in 2019. Diaspora* has the considerably larger community, at 13,648 GitHub stars versus 583. Diaspora* lists first-class Docker deployment; ActivityPub for WordPress does not.
Why pick each one
Choose diaspora* if…
- Strong privacy ethos
- Established network
Watch out for
- Limited fediverse interoperability
- Slower development
Choose ActivityPub for WordPress if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is diaspora* or ActivityPub for WordPress better?
Neither is universally better. diaspora* has the larger community, while ActivityPub for WordPress is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are diaspora* and ActivityPub for WordPress free and open-source?
Yes. diaspora* is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and ActivityPub for WordPress under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run diaspora* and ActivityPub for WordPress with Docker?
diaspora*: yes. ActivityPub for WordPress: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, diaspora* or ActivityPub for WordPress?
ActivityPub for WordPress 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.