SHSelfHostIndex

Elgg vs HumHub

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?
EL Elgg Framework for building social networks VS HumHub Open-source social network for communities
FeatureElggHumHub
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score85 · Excellent91 · Excellent
CategorySocial NetworksSocial Networks
LicenseGPL-2.0AGPL-3.0
LanguagePHPPHP
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 1,678★ 6,744
First released20042014
ReplacesFacebook Groups, YammerFacebook Workplace, Yammer

What are Elgg and HumHub?

Elgg

Elgg is an open-source rapid development framework for socially aware web applications. It provides the building blocks for custom social networks, intranets, and community sites.

  • Social networking framework
  • Plugin-based extensibility
  • Activity streams
  • Groups and friend networks

Read the full Elgg guide →

HumHub

HumHub is a free, open-source social network kit for building communities and intranets. It offers activity streams, spaces, profiles, and a modular system for collaboration.

  • Activity streams and spaces
  • Modular marketplace
  • LDAP and SSO support
  • User profiles and groups

Read the full HumHub guide →

Elgg vs HumHub: key differences

Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Elgg versus AGPL-3.0 for HumHub. Elgg is the more established project (first released 2004), while HumHub arrived in 2014. HumHub has the considerably larger community, at 6,744 GitHub stars versus 1,678.

Why pick each one

Choose Elgg if…

  • Flexible for custom networks
  • Mature codebase

Watch out for

  • Requires development work
  • Niche community
Elgg details

Choose HumHub if…

  • Great for intranets
  • Easy module installation

Watch out for

  • Some modules are paid
  • Default UI is plain
HumHub details

Frequently asked questions

Is Elgg or HumHub better?

Neither is universally better. HumHub has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Elgg and HumHub free and open-source?

Yes. Elgg is licensed under GPL-2.0 and HumHub under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Elgg and HumHub with Docker?

Elgg: yes. HumHub: yes.

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