Friendica vs Zap
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
Zap
Decentralized social network with nomadic identity
| Feature | Friendica | Zap |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ★ 50 |
| First released | 2010 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Twitter | Facebook, Twitter |
What are Friendica and Zap?
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
Zap
Zap is a decentralized communications platform from the Hubzilla and Streams lineage that supports nomadic identity, letting accounts move between servers. It federates over multiple protocols including ActivityPub.
- Nomadic identity
- Multi-protocol federation
- Account portability
- Fine-grained permissions
Friendica vs Zap: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Friendica versus MIT for Zap. Friendica is the more established project (first released 2010), while Zap arrived in 2018. Friendica has the considerably larger community, at 1,690 GitHub stars versus 50. Friendica lists first-class Docker deployment; Zap 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 Zap if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in PHP
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Friendica or Zap better?
Friendica is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Zap if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Friendica and Zap free and open-source?
Yes. Friendica is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Zap under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Friendica and Zap with Docker?
Friendica: yes. Zap: check the project docs for container support.