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.
Not the right match-up?
Friendica
Decentralized social network with broad federation
VS
Sharkey
Feature-rich Misskey fork for the fediverse
| Feature | Friendica | Sharkey |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ★ 1,680 | ★ 600 |
| First released | 2010 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Twitter | Twitter, Mastodon |
Why pick each one
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.