The Best Open Source Facebook AlternativesTop Social Networks and other similar apps like Facebook

The best open source alternative to Facebook is diaspora*. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Facebook and loads of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Facebook are Mastodon, Minds, Gab and Friendica.

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Connect with friends and family, share photos and videos, organize events, and join groups on a cross-platform social network offering messaging, live streaming, and more.

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Facebook alternatives page was last updated Mar 21, 2025
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Alternatives
  1. diaspora* icon

    diaspora*

     435 likes
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    Diaspora is a federated social networking service, designed to be a more privacy-aware alternative to Facebook . Share what you want, with whom you want.

    123 diaspora* alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • BSD
    • Self-Hosted
    • Ruby
    diaspora* screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Decentralized
    2.  Federated
    3.  Encrypted Connection
    4.  No Tracking
    5.  Distributed
    6.  Ad-free
    7.  Fediverse
    8. ActivityPub icon  Support for ActivityPub
    9.  Self-hosted
    10.  Support for MarkDown

    diaspora* VS Facebook

     
    Comments about diaspora* as an Alternative to Facebook
    Comment summary: Diaspora is praised for its privacy features, decentralization, and open-source approach, allowing users to control their data and avoid ads. It is noted for its focus on security, freedom, and non-censorship compared to Facebook. While some users highlight its self-hosting and flexible functionalities, others miss Facebook's collaboration features, suggesting Diaspora isn't a complete Facebook alternative. Overall, Diaspora appeals to privacy-conscious users but remains smaller in scale.
    Top Positive Comment
    Yrdael
    Dec 10, 2016
    7

    So many possibilities are available. Respectful. Nice and clear. Can be self-hosted.

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    Oct 1, 2019
    7

    group/collaboration function is absent. not a developer, so im sure i do not understand the difficulties in making this happen. but im pretty sure this is the nr 1 reason diaspora is NOT an fb alternative.

    Most Recent Comment
    richardh9935
    Positive •Jan 26, 2025
    0

    I value privacy, security and independence. I collaborate using other tools, and I don’t expect one tool to suit all tasks.

    Show more comments
    3 of 13 comments
    Facebook Icon
    diaspora* icon

    • Most users think diaspora* is a great Facebook alternative.

    • diaspora* is the most popular Web-based & Self-Hosted alternative to Facebook.

    • diaspora* is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Facebook.

    • diaspora* is Free and Open SourceFacebook is Free and Proprietary
    • diaspora* is Decentralized and Privacy focusedFacebook is not according to our users
  2. Mastodon icon

    Mastodon

     525 likes
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    Decentralized and federated social platform with no ads, focusing on personal interaction, and offering 500 character posts, custom emojis, content warnings, and robust moderation tools.

    129 Mastodon alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • F-Droid
    • Cloudron
    Screenshot of the Mastodon web interface

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Lightweight
    3.  Support for Themes

    Features

    1.  Decentralized
    2.  Federated
    3.  Ad-free
    4.  Fediverse
    5. ActivityPub icon  Support for ActivityPub
    6.  Dark Mode
    7.  No Censorship
    8.  Two-factor Authentication
    9.  No Tracking
    10.  Support for @mentions
    11.  Multiple Account support
    12.  Self Destructing Messages

    Mastodon VS Facebook

     
    Comments about Mastodon as an Alternative to Facebook
    Comment summary: Mastodon is praised for being decentralized, open-source, and non-commercial, offering freedom and privacy without ads. Users appreciate its ability to curate following and block unwanted content. However, some view it as more similar to Twitter rather than Facebook, noting it lacks Facebook's extensive functionality. Mastodon is lauded for being federated and supporting OStatus and ActivityPub, yet its smaller user base means it has room for growth.
    Top Positive Comment
    Goldmaster
    Sep 16, 2024
    2

    No ads, no rubbish and just better than Facebook threads

    Top Negative Comment
    loziniak
    Jan 24, 2020
    12

    Mastodon is more like Twitter.

    Most Recent Comment
    FitikWasTaken
    •Jan 13, 2025
    1

    Mastodon is good, but it's too different from Facebook, it doesn't even have groups, in the Fediverse the Friendica is the closest Facebook alternative

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    3 of 14 comments
    Facebook Icon
    Mastodon icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Mastodon is a great Facebook alternative.

    • Mastodon is the most popular Android, iPhone & iPad alternative to Facebook.

    • Mastodon is Free and Open SourceFacebook is Free and Proprietary
    • Mastodon is Decentralized and Privacy focusedFacebook is not according to our users
  4. Minds icon

    Minds

     325 likes
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    An open-source platform for decentralized social networking. Users can monetize posts through ads or monthly support, engaging in various features such as Blogs, Videos, and secure private chats. Minds supports free speech and facilitates sharing across networks and exploring global trends.

    125 Minds alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    Minds.com homepage

    Properties

    1.  Free Speech
    2.  Security-focused
    3.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Decentralized
    2.  Encrypted Chat
    3.  No Censorship
    4.  Monetization
    5.  Gamification
    6.  Podcast Hosting
    7.  Tokenization
    8.  Secure Chat
    9.  Share screenshots

    Minds VS Facebook

     
    Comments about Minds as an Alternative to Facebook
    Comment summary: Minds is praised for its open-source nature, freedom of speech, and lack of censorship, providing a refreshing alternative to Facebook. Users appreciate Minds' features for content creators, community engagement, and privacy. However, some note issues with premium content access and annoying notifications. Overall, Minds offers a platform with greater transparency and user involvement, appealing to those seeking a less restricted social media experience.
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    Mar 19, 2017
    18

    Open source, transparent and does not push any particular ideology.

    Top Negative Comment
    David Saylor
    Mar 30, 2022
    0

    they charge money to see posts that were posted by premium members.. they have none of the features that Facebook has.. literally the only thing it has at this point in time, is a main feed wall to share posts, that's it.

    Most Recent Comment
    Yousif Adel
    Negative •Mar 18, 2024
    0

    Minds keeps sending messages to join groups or discover pages etc. It cannot be disabled and its annoying.

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    3 of 37 comments
    Facebook Icon
    Minds icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Minds is a great Facebook alternative.

    • Minds is the most popular Android Tablet alternative to Facebook.

    • Minds is Freemium and Open SourceFacebook is Free and Proprietary
    • Minds is Decentralized, Security-focused and Privacy focusedFacebook is not according to our users
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    Minds icon
    Minds

    An open-source platform for decentralized social networking. Users can monetize posts through ads or monthly support, engaging in various features such as Blogs, Videos, and secure private chats. Minds supports free speech and fa...

    https://www.minds.com
    Learn More
  6. Gab icon

    Gab

     254 likes
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    Gab Social is an open source and fully decentralized social network powered by the Gab Platform. It is the new social network of Gab.com. This change was made to further Gab's commitment to its users trust and privacy online.

    119 Gab alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    Gab screenshot 1
    Warning

    Gab is less moderated compared to other social networks and could be offensive to some people

    Properties

    1.  Free Speech
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  Community-based
    3.  Live topics
    4.  Bypass Censorship
    5.  Decentralized
    6.  No registration required
    7.  Fediverse
    8.  Two-factor Authentication
    9.  Dark Mode
    10.  Content creators
    11.  Word filtering
    12.  Information aggregator

    Gab VS Facebook

     
    Comments about Gab as an Alternative to Facebook
    Comment summary: Gab is praised for its commitment to free speech and minimal censorship, offering features like user-controlled content and no data harvesting. However, its design resembles Twitter more than Facebook, which some users find unsuitable as a direct replacement for Facebook. Additional highlights include no ads, optional feed control, and the ability to broadcast live with GabTV.
    Top Positive Comment
    Yousif Adel
    Mar 21, 2024
    1

    This platform has extremely MINIMAL Censorship on posts. Which allows for freedom of speech.

    Top Negative Comment
    bird
    Jul 10, 2019
    10

    Without dabbing into politics and stuff, the architecture of Gab is more like Twitter than Facebook.

    Most Recent Comment
    Guest
    Positive •Aug 23, 2021
    -1

    Great communities. Free speech. Ability to mute other users.

    Show more comments
    3 of 20 comments
    Facebook Icon
    Gab icon

    • Most users think Gab is a great Facebook alternative.

    • Gab is Freemium and Open SourceFacebook is Free and Proprietary
    • Gab is Privacy focused and DecentralizedFacebook is not according to our users
  7. Friendica icon

    Friendica

     139 likes
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    Friendica is a distributed social network application. Which allow users to connect with others via their own Friendica server, but may also fully integrate contacts from other platforms including Twitter, diaspora*, Pump.io and StatusNet into their 'newsfeed'.

    118 Friendica alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Android
    • BSD
    • Self-Hosted
    • F-Droid
    • PHP
    Logo

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Federated
    2. ActivityPub icon  Support for ActivityPub
    3.  Decentralized
    4.  Ad-free
    5. diaspora* icon  Diaspora integration
    6.  Support for @mentions
    7.  No Tracking
    8.  Rsvp
    9.  Commodity hosting support
    10. X icon  X Integration
    11.  Team Messaging
    12.  Community events

    Friendica VS Facebook

     
    Comments about Friendica as an Alternative to Facebook
    Top Positive Comment
    arndtadler
    Jul 11, 2018
    4

    It's independent, feature rich and decentralized.

    Most Recent Comment
    Digital Sorceress
    Positive •Mar 21, 2025
    0

    Facebook like for sure but feels very unfinished.. a good start.

    remote man
    Positive •Jan 5, 2024
    1

    ActivityPub and open-source

    Show more comments
    3 of 7 comments
    Facebook Icon
    Friendica icon

    • Most users think Friendica is a great Facebook alternative.

    • Friendica is the most popular Linux alternative to Facebook.

    • Friendica is Free and Open SourceFacebook is Free and Proprietary
    • Friendica is Decentralized and Privacy focusedFacebook is not according to our users
  8. Hubzilla icon

    Hubzilla

     86 likes
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    Hubzilla is a powerful platform for creating interconnected based websites featuring a decentralised identity, communications, and permissions framework built using common webserver technology. Hubzilla is very suitable for communities (of any size).

    71 Hubzilla alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    Channel

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Free Speech

    Features

    1.  Decentralized
    2. ActivityPub icon  Support for ActivityPub
    3.  Federated
    4.  Publishing
    5.  Calendar Integration
    6.  Ad-free
    7.  Wide API Support
    8.  OpenID Provider
    9.  Wiki
    10.  Distributed
    11.  Categories

    Hubzilla VS Facebook

     
    Comments about Hubzilla as an Alternative to Facebook
    Most Recent Comment
    themagician
    Positive •Mar 24, 2018
    4

    Feature for feature, Hubzilla is the best decentralized, open source competitor to Facebook.

    Compatibility with the Diaspora, OStatus (includes Mastodon), & ActivityPub (includes NextCloud) protocols allows it to communicate with nearly every other existing.

    I am happy that after he created Friendica, Mike Macgirvin & friends have continued to push forward by creating and developing Hubzilla.

    Net Nut
    Positive •Nov 14, 2020
    1

    Unlike a centralized platform like facebook you can talk to other federated platforms and with a Nomadic Identity you are never locked permanently to one server , yet you can communicate across to other platforms much in the way that email does. In addition to not being locked.. you never need to give out a new address, you keep in communication when you migrate to another server, plus there are many free servers to use, or you can launch your own instance.

    the_real_dvs1
    Positive •Apr 3, 2018
    2

    Every user can make private or public forums, a static webpage, an editable markdown based wiki, categorize posts and format them with BBCode. You choose what hub hosts your data, and you can clone your account on another hub to prevent distruption or data loss.

    Facebook Icon
    Hubzilla icon

    • Most users think Hubzilla is a great Facebook alternative.

    • Hubzilla is Free and Open SourceFacebook is Free and Proprietary
    • Hubzilla is Decentralized and Privacy focusedFacebook is not according to our users
  10. GNU social icon

    GNU social

     98 likes
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    GNU social is a continuation of the StatusNet project. It is social communication software for both public and private communications. It is widely supported and has a large userbase.

    86 GNU social alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    Screenshot of a GNU social website with Swedish localization. Source Wikipedia / FSF
    Discontinued

    Not actively developed/maintained anymore.

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Free Speech

    Features

    1.  Decentralized
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  End-to-End Encryption
    4. ActivityPub icon  Support for ActivityPub

    GNU social VS Facebook

     
7 of 51 Facebook alternatives