Friendica vs Osada
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Friendica
Decentralized social network with broad federation
VS
Osada
ActivityPub social server with nomadic features
| Feature | Friendica | Osada |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,690 | ★ 20 |
| First released | 2010 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Twitter | Facebook, Twitter |
What are Friendica and Osada?
Friendica
Friendica is a free, open-source decentralized social network. It connects to the fediverse and other networks, offering a Facebook-style experience with groups, photos, and events.
- Federates with many networks
- Groups and forums
- Photo albums and events
- Addon system
Osada
Osada is a decentralized social networking server that speaks the ActivityPub protocol while incorporating nomadic identity concepts from the Zot ecosystem. It federates with Mastodon and other fediverse software.
- ActivityPub social server
- Nomadic identity features
- Federates with the fediverse
Friendica vs Osada: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Friendica versus MIT for Osada. Friendica is the more established project (first released 2010), while Osada arrived in 2018. Friendica has the considerably larger community, at 1,690 GitHub stars versus 20. Friendica lists first-class Docker deployment; Osada does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Friendica if…
- Connects to multiple protocols
- Facebook-like experience
Watch out for
- Dated interface
- Smaller user base
Choose Osada if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in PHP
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Friendica or Osada better?
Friendica is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Osada if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Friendica and Osada free and open-source?
Yes. Friendica is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Osada under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Friendica and Osada with Docker?
Friendica: yes. Osada: check the project docs for container support.