Friendica vs Sharkey
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
Sharkey
Feature-rich Misskey fork for the fediverse
| Feature | Friendica | Sharkey |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,690 | ★ 600 |
| First released | 2010 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Twitter | Twitter, Mastodon |
What are Friendica and Sharkey?
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
Sharkey
Sharkey is a feature-rich fork of Misskey that adds quote posts, improved moderation, and additional customization for fediverse instances. It supports a rich timeline with reactions and drive file storage.
- Quote posts and reactions
- Drive file storage
- Extensive customization
- Improved moderation
Friendica vs Sharkey: key differences
Friendica is written in PHP, while Sharkey is built with TypeScript. Friendica is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Sharkey. Friendica is the more established project (first released 2010), while Sharkey arrived in 2023. Friendica has the considerably larger community, at 1,690 GitHub stars versus 600.
Why pick each one
Choose Friendica if…
- Connects to multiple protocols
- Facebook-like experience
Watch out for
- Dated interface
- Smaller user base
Choose Sharkey if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Friendica or Sharkey better?
Neither is universally better. Friendica has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Friendica and Sharkey free and open-source?
Yes. Friendica is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Sharkey under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Friendica and Sharkey with Docker?
Friendica: yes. Sharkey: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Friendica or Sharkey?
Friendica has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Sharkey. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.