Osada vs Socialhome
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Socialhome
Federated personal social home pages
| Feature | Osada | Socialhome |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 20 | ★ 381 |
| First released | 2018 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Twitter | Tumblr, Facebook |
What are Osada and Socialhome?
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
Socialhome
Socialhome is a federated, open-source social network where users build a customizable home page of content. It federates over ActivityPub and the Diaspora protocol.
- Customizable home page grid
- ActivityPub and Diaspora federation
- Content streams
- Markdown support
Osada vs Socialhome: key differences
Osada is written in PHP, while Socialhome is built with Python. Licensing differs — MIT for Osada versus AGPL-3.0 for Socialhome. Socialhome is the more established project (first released 2016), while Osada arrived in 2018. Socialhome has the considerably larger community, at 381 GitHub stars versus 20. Socialhome lists first-class Docker deployment; Osada does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Osada if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in PHP
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose Socialhome if…
- Unique personal-page focus
- Multi-protocol federation
Watch out for
- Small community
- Slower development
Frequently asked questions
Is Osada or Socialhome better?
Socialhome 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 Osada and Socialhome free and open-source?
Yes. Osada is licensed under MIT and Socialhome under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Osada and Socialhome with Docker?
Osada: check the project docs for container support. Socialhome: yes.