Mastodon vs Facebook alternatives
Comparison between Mastodon, Friendica, Hubzilla and (streams)
Artikel ansehen
Zusammenfassung ansehen
| Basic information | Mastodon | Friendica | Hubzilla | (streams) | Forte |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Official name | Mastodon | Friendica | Hubzilla | (intentionally nameless) | Forte |
| Launched in | January, 2016 | May, 2010 | May, 2015 | October, 2021 | August, 2024 |
| Creator | @Eugen Rochko | @Mike Macgirvin ?️ | @Mike Macgirvin ?️ | @Mike Macgirvin ?️ | @Mike Macgirvin ?️ |
| Fork | No fork | No fork | Fork of fork of Friendica | Fork of fork of three forks of fork (of fork?) of Hubzilla | Fork of (streams) |
| Current main developer(s) | @Eugen Rochko | @Michael Vogel @Tobias | @Mario Vavti @Harald Eilertsen | @Mike Macgirvin ?️ | @Mike Macgirvin ?️ |
| Official website | https://joinmastodon.org | https://friendi.ca | https://hubzilla.org | None See code repositories | None See code repositories |
| Code repositories | GitHub | GitHub (core) GitHub (add-ons) | Framagit (core) Framagit (apps) Framagit (themes) Framagit (widgets) | Codeberg (core) Codeberg (apps) | Codeberg (core) Codeberg (apps) |
| License | GNU Affero GPL v3 | GNU Affero GPL v3 | MIT | Public domain | MIT |
| Central instance lists | Official curated list Fediverse Observer list FediDB list | Friendica Directory list Fediverse Observer list FediDB list | Fediverse Observer list FediDB list | No instance list available Open instance in the USA: Rumbly Open instance in Hungary (German admin): Nomád | Fediverse Observer list |
| Built-in lists of known instances | None | None | /communities?type=streams_repository e.g. https://fediversity.site/communities?type=streams_repository https://rumbly.net/communities?type=streams_repository https://nomad.fedi-verse.hu/communities?type=streams_repository (may list both (streams) and Forte servers because they're indistinguishable) | /communities?type=forte e.g. (may list both Forte and (streams) servers because they're indistinguishable) | |
| Official beginner's guide (external website) | Signing up for an account | First steps | User guide | None | None |
| Built-in beginner's guide | None | /help/guide (only available when logged in) | /help/member/member_guide | None | None |
| User documentation (external website) | Official documentation | Official wiki | Re-written official help | None | None |
| Built-in user documentation | None | /help (only available when logged in) | /help | /help/guide | /help/guide |
| Official support groups in the Fediverse | None | Support forum admin forum | Hubzilla support forum | Streams | (use the (streams) support group for now) |
| Learning curve | ● | ●● | ●●●●● | ●●●● | ●●●● |
| Mobile apps | Mastodon | Friendica | Hubzilla | (streams) | Forte |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Official iOS app | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Official Android app | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| 3rd-party iOS apps | Yes | Closed beta | No | No | No |
| 3rd-party Android apps | Yes | Yes | Outdated, F-Droid only, uses the Web interface | No | No |
| Works with Mastodon apps | Yes | Very limited features | No | No | No |
| Can be installed as a Progressive Web App | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Web interface adapts to mobile | Yes | Yes | Yes + optional zoom | Yes + optional zoom | Yes + optional zoom |
| Interconnectivity | Mastodon | Friendica | Hubzilla | (streams) | Forte |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base protocol | ActivityPub | ActivityPub DFRN | Nomad (Zot6)¹ | Nomad² | ActivityPub |
| ActivityPub federation | Yes | Yes | Optional, off by default | Optional; on by default | Yes |
| diaspora* federation | No | Optional, off by default | Optional, off by default | No | No |
| Nomad federation² | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Nomad (Zot6) federation¹ | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Bluesky connection | Bridgy Fed | Native Optional, off by default | Bridgy Fed | Bridgy Fed | Bridgy Fed |
| Feeds | RSS | Atom | Atom | Atom | Atom |
| Subscribe to RSS/Atom feeds | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
¹Hubzilla's current base protocol is referred to as Zot6 by Hubzilla's developers, but as an older version of Nomad by Mike Macgirvin. It is incompatible with the Nomad version as implemented in (streams).
²(streams) is based on a successor to Hubzilla's base protocol. During the further development of this protocol, it became incompatible with Hubzilla's Zot6 base protocol, and it was renamed Nomad. Later on, Mike started referring to Hubzilla's Zot6 as an older version of Nomad. Due to the aforementioned incompatibility, (streams) supports two versions of the Nomad protocol to remain compatible with Hubzilla even with ActivityPub off.
| Identity and profile | Mastodon | Friendica | Hubzilla | (streams) | Forte |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Account equals identity | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Multiple independent identities (channels) per account/login | No | Subaccounts | Independent channels | Independent channels | Independent channels |
| Switch between your identities on the same instance without logging out and back in | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Move your identity to another instance | Limited | Limited | Within Hubzilla, leaving no dead channel behind | Within (streams), leaving no dead channel behind | Within Forte, leaving no dead channel behind |
| Nomadic identity (clone your identity between multiple instances) | No | No | Within Hubzilla | Within (streams) | Within Forte |
| Nomadic identity via ActivityPub | No support | No support | No support | Understood | Full support |
| OpenWebAuth magic single sign-on | No | Client only | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Verify external identities | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Multiple profiles per account/channel which can be assigned to connections | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Variable-use text fields | 4 | No | No | No | No |
| Dedicated keyword/hashtag field | No | Keywords | Keywords | Keywords | Keywords |
| Birthday field which generated birthday events | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Location and contact information fields | No | Optional, off by default | Optional, off by default | Optional, off by default | |
| Gender field | No | 14 pre-defined entries + blank | 14 pre-defined entries + blank | 14 pre-defined entries + blank | |
| Sexual preference/orientation field | No | 13 pre-defined entires + blank | 9 pre-defined entires + blank | 9 pre-defined entires + blank | |
| Other preference/interest fields | No | Optional, off by default | Optional, off by default | Optional, off by default | |
| Opt into your (public default) profile being published | Search | Directory | Directory | Directory | Directory |
| Opt into being suggested as a new contact | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Flag your account/channel not safe for work | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Security and privacy | Mastodon | Friendica | Hubzilla | (streams) | Forte |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Account/channel types | None | Yes | Public Private Community forum Custom (with 17 individual permission settings) | Social - Public Social - Restricted Group - Normal Group - Limited Group - Moderated Group - Restricted + various individual channel-wide permissions setings | Social - Public Social - Restricted Group - Normal Group - Limited Group - Moderated Group - Restricted + various individual channel-wide permissions setings |
| Permissions | Very limited | Basic | Advanced | Advanced | Advanced |
| Limit access to your profile | No | Yes | Anybody on the internet; anybody in the Fediverse; anybody on Hubzilla or (streams); anybody on your hub; unapproved and approved connections; approved connections; only those you specifically allow by contact role; only yourself | Depends on channel type Public (Social - Normal, Group - Normal, Group - Limited, Group - Moderated); approved connections (Social - Restricted, Group - Restricted) | Depends on channel type Public (Social - Normal, Group - Normal, Group - Limited, Group - Moderated); approved connections (Social - Restricted, Group - Restricted) |
| Limit access to your connections | Show or hide | Yes | Anybody on the internet; anybody in the Fediverse; anybody on Hubzilla or (streams); anybody on your hub; unapproved and approved connections; approved connections; only those you specifically allow by contact role; only yourself | Public; identified Fediverse users; approved connections; only yourself Override either with individual connection permissions and connection roles | Public; identified Fediverse users; approved connections; only yourself Override either with individual connection permissions and connection roles |
| Limit access to your timeline/stream | No | Yes | Anybody on the internet; anybody in the Fediverse; anybody on Hubzilla or (streams); anybody on your hub; unapproved and approved connections; approved connections; only those you specifically allow by contact role; only yourself | Public; approved connections; depends on channel type Override either with individual connection permissions and connection roles | Public; approved connections; depends on channel type Override either with individual connection permissions and connection roles |
| Limit searching your timeline/stream | No per-account timeline search available | No | No | Public; identified Fediverse users; approved connections; only yourself Override either with individual connection permissions and connection roles | Public; identified Fediverse users; approved connections; only yourself Override either with individual connection permissions and connection roles |
| Individual permissions for contacts | No | Contact roles | Individual permission settings Permission roles | Individual permission settings Permission roles | |
| Grant/deny individual permission to send you posts | No | Yes, depending on channel role Only controls whether posts are received and not whether they can actually be sent | Yes, depending on channel settings Only controls whether posts are received and not whether they can actually be sent | Yes, depending on channel settings Only controls whether posts are received and not whether they can actually be sent | |
| Grant/deny individual permission to send you boosts | No | By filter syntax Only controls whether boosts are received and not whether they can actually be sent | Yes Only controls whether boosts are received and not whether they can actually be sent | Yes Only controls whether boosts are received and not whether they can actually be sent | |
| Grant/deny individual permission to send you private messages | No | Yes, depending on channel role | Yes, depending on channel settings | Yes, depending on channel settings | |
| Post audience | Public; unlisted; followers only; mentioned only Set either of the first three as your default audience | Public; only yourself; all members of a privacy group; whoever is assigned a certain non-default profile; a group/forum; custom selection of contacts Select either Public or a privacy group as your default audience | Public; connections only; all members of an access list; a group/forum; custom selection of contacts; only yourself Select either of these as your default audience | Public; connections only; all members of an access list; a group/forum; custom selection of contacts; only yourself Select either of these as your default audience | |
| Account-wide/channel-wide reply control | No | Anybody on the internet; anybody in the Fediverse; anybody on Hubzilla or (streams); anybody on your hub; unapproved and approved connections; approved connections; only those you specifically allow by contact role; only yourself Option to moderate unpermitted comments | Anybody in the Fediverse; approved connections; only yourself Override either with individual connection permissions and connection roles Option to moderate unpermitted comments | Anybody in the Fediverse; approved connections; only yourself Override either with individual connection permissions and connection roles Option to moderate unpermitted comments | |
| Per-connection reply control | No | Grant or deny permission to comment on your posts with contact roles | Grant or deny permission to comment on your posts with individual settings per connection and connection roles | Grant or deny permission to comment on your posts with individual settings per connection and connection roles | |
| Per-post reply control | No | Optional, off by default Allow/disallow comments on individual posts | Optional, off by default Allow/disallow comments on individual posts Limit comments on individual posts to your connections only Automatically disallow comments on individual posts after a certain date | Optional, off by default Allow/disallow comments on individual posts Limit comments on individual posts to your connections only Automatically disallow comments on individual posts after a certain date | |
| Account-wide/channel-wide quote-post control | No quote-posts available | Anybody in the Fediverse; anybody on Hubzilla or (streams); anybody on your hub; unapproved and approved connections; approved connections; only those you specifically allow by contact role; only yourself | Only certain approved connections, by means of individual connection permissions and connection roles | Only certain approved connections, by means of individual connection permissions and connection roles | |
| Grant/deny permission to quote-post (share) your posts | Only works within Mastodon and only from Mastodon 4.4 upward The rest of the Fediverse does not support this setting and ignores it | Only works by making posts non-public | Only works by making posts non-public | Only works by making posts non-public | |
| Grant/deny permission to automatically repost your posts as a channel source | Neither has nor knows channel sources | Yes, depending on channel role | Yes | Yes | |
| Allow certain connections to control your account/channel | No | By delegation Only Friendica connections on the same node as your account | By contact role Only Friendica, Hubzilla, (streams) and Forte connections | By permission settings for the connection Only Friendica, Hubzilla, (streams) and Forte connections | By permission settings for the connection Only Friendica, Hubzilla, (streams) and Forte connections |
| Report to admin/moderation | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Block instances | Yes | Admin only? | Admin only | Yes | Yes |
| Block entire server applications (e.g. Threads or all of Mastodon) by user agent | No | No | No | Admin only | Admin only |
| Filters | Mastodon | Friendica | Hubzilla | (streams) | Forte |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Account/channel-wide filters | Blocklist | Allowlist + blocklist | Allowlist + blocklist | Allowlist + blocklist | Allowlist + blocklist |
| Individual filters per connection | No | Optional, off by default Allowlist + blocklist | Optional, off by default Allowlist + blocklist | Optional, off by default Allowlist + blocklist | |
| Regular expressions on filter lists | No | Not with filter syntax | Not with filter syntax | Not with filter syntax | |
| Filter by post, comment or direct message | No | Limited | Limited | Limited | |
| Filter reposts (boosts) | No | Limited | Limited | Limited | |
| Individual reader-side content warnings generated from keywords | Special filter mode | Optional, off by default Extra feature with only one keyword list | Optional, off by default Extra feature with only one keyword list | Optional, off by default Extra feature with only one keyword list | Optional, off by default Extra feature with only one keyword list |
| Post features | Mastodon | Friendica | Hubzilla | (streams) | Forte |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long-form blogging | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Can send Article-type objects | No | Post/DM with title = Article-type Post/DM without title = Note-type Comment = Note-type Can be configured to always send Note-type objects | No | Whole channel can be switched between always sending Article-type objects and always sending Note-type objects Posts above a configurable instance-wide limit (default: 200,000) are always sent as Article-type objects | Whole channel can be switched between always sending Article-type objects and always sending Note-type objects Posts above a configurable instance-wide limit (default: 200,000) are always sent as Article-type objects |
| Can properly display Article-type objects | No; links to them instead | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Max. characters (local) | 500; hard-coded | 16,777,215; database field size limit (API reports a limit of 200,000) | 16,777,215; database field size limit | >24,000,000 | >24,000,000 |
| Max. characters (received) | 100,000? | Virtually unlimited | Virtually unlimited | Virtually unlimited | Virtually unlimited |
| Summary | Repurposed for content warnings | BBcode tags | Dedicated field (posts only) | BBcode or HTML tags | BBcode or HTML tags |
| Text formatting | Read-only Very limited | BBcode; optionally Markdown | BBcode | BBcode + Markdown + HTML | BBcode + Markdown + HTML |
| Max. images (local) | 4 | Virtually unlimited | Virtually unlimited | Virtually unlimited | Virtually unlimited |
| Max. images (received) | 4 | Virtually unlimited | Virtually unlimited | Virtually unlimited | Virtually unlimited |
| Embedded in-line images | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Max. poll options (local) | 4 | None | Virtually unlimited | Virtually unlimited | Virtually unlimited |
| Quote | Read-only | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Quote-post | Read-only | Quoted share Static copy of original | Share Static copy of original | Share Static copy of original | Share Static copy of original |
| Repost | Boost | Share | Repeat | Repeat | Repeat |
| Be notified when a stranger mentions you out of the blue | Yes | Optional, off by default | Optional, off by default | Optional, off by default |
| Conversations | Mastodon | Friendica | Hubzilla | (streams) | Forte |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Threaded conversations (like Facebook, blogs, Reddit etc.) | No | Yes | Conversation Containers | Conversation Containers | Conversation Containers |
| Replies require mentions for notification | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Follow/unfollow threads | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Receive comments by connections on unknown posts | Yes | No | No | Optional, off by default Receive entire conversation | Optional, off by default Receive entire conversation |
| Groups/forums | Mastodon | Friendica | Hubzilla | (streams) | Forte |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support for group actors | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Built-in groups | No | As accounts | As channels | As channels | As channels |
| Restricted/private groups | No | Yes | By custom channel role configuration | Four group channel type presets + additional permission configuration | Four group channel type presets + additional permission configuration |
| Public groups can be joined by | Not available | Anyone in the Fediverse | Anyone in the Fediverse | Anyone in the Fediverse | Anyone in the Fediverse |
| Restricted/private groups can be joined by | Not available | Friendica accounts Hubzilla channels (streams) channels Forte channels | Hubzilla accounts (streams) channels Forte channels (if the group has ActivityPub on) | Hubzilla accounts (streams) channels Anybody in the Fediverse (if the group has ActivityPub on) | Anybody in the Fediverse |
| Appoint additional group administrators | No | By delegation Only Friendica connections on the same node as your account | By contact role Only Friendica, Hubzilla, (streams) and Forte connections | By permission settings for the connection Only Friendica, Hubzilla, (streams) and Forte connections | By permission settings for the connection Only Friendica, Hubzilla, (streams) and Forte connections |
| Directory | Mastodon | Friendica | Hubzilla | (streams) | Forte |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Official central directory | No | Friendica Directory | Can be mirrored by any Hubzilla hub Not available as a website | No | No |
| Directory on instance | Yes | Yes | Hubzilla and (streams) only | ActivityPub + Nomad | ActivityPub |
| Only show local accounts/channels | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hide accounts/channels flagged not safe for work | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Only show groups/forums | No | Only public groups/forums Hubzilla forums; (streams) forums | Only sufficiently public groups/forums Guppe groups; Fedibird groups; Friendica groups; Hubzilla forums; (streams) groups; Forte groups; Lemmy communities; /kbin magazines; Mbin magazines; PieFed communities; Mobilizon groups; Flipboard magazines | Only sufficiently public groups/forums Guppe groups; Fedibird groups; Friendica groups; Hubzilla forums with ActivityPub on; (streams) groups with ActivityPub on; Forte groups; Lemmy communities; /kbin magazines; Mbin magazines; PieFed communities; Mobilizon groups; Flipboard magazines | |
| Sorting algorithms | Newest; most recently active | Newest; oldest; alphabetic; reverse alphabetic | Newest; oldest; alphabetic; reverse alphabetic | Newest; oldest; alphabetic; reverse alphabetic | |
| Search directory | No | Search for names and keywords | Search for names and keywords | Search for names and keywords | Search for names and keywords |
| Keyword cloud | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Suggestion mode | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Other features | Mastodon | Friendica | Hubzilla | (streams) | Forte |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File space with file manager | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Subdirectories in file space | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Access permission control for files | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Access permission control for directories | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| OCAP permission override for media embedded into posts | No | No | Optional, off by default | Yes | Yes |
| Guest access tokens for the file space | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| WebDAV | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Event calendar | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CalDAV calendar server | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Event calendar can be used as CalDAV frontend | No | No | Limited | No | No |
| CardDAV addressbook server | No | No | Optional, off by default | Yes | Yes |
| Articles (non-federating written pieces of unlimited length) | No | No | Optional, off by default | No | No |
| Cards (non-federating planning cards of unlimited length) | No | No | Optional, off by default | No | No |
| Wikis | No | No | Optional, off by default Multiple wikis possible with multiple pages each Limit read access to your wikis Appoint additional editors for all wikis Can use BBcode or Markdown | No | No |
| Webpages | No | No | Optional, off by default Can use BBcode, Markdown or HTML Limit read access to your webpages Appoint additional webpage editors | No | No |
@Jupiter Rowland
By the way, does this post just not allow reshares at all, or am I somehow missing how to get to the right screen for that?
By the way, does this post just not allow reshares at all, or am I somehow missing how to get to the right screen for that?
@dynamic_hubzilla No idea; I've got the UI elements for both sharing and repeating it.
Maybe it's because it's an article and not a post?
Maybe it's because it's an article and not a post?
Konversationsmerkmale
Lädt...
Not that these tables need to get bigger, but one comparison point that I do think is pretty important is whether or not the platform enable bulk import / export of contacts lists. If I recall correctly, Friendica gives a pretty smooth import process. Hubzilla doesn't currently do import of contact lists at all (channel cloning is not the same thing).
I know you've previously expressed skepticism about the tractibility of importing Hubzilla contacts, but I think it can be done.