12 Open Source Self-hosted Social Media Network Alternatives

Have you ever thought about building your own small social network for you, your family, relatives, community, or team? Let's say, something like Facebook but on a small scale for private use!

Well, all you need is a self-hosted social network software and a server, and this article is to choose from the best open-source self-hosted social medial solutions.

fits for communities, companies, and teams

Why do you need your own social network?

1. Protect your data and privacy
2. A small focused network for your community
3. Easier to manage
4. Own your data
5. Free to customize

Open-source solutions to build your own social network

1- Humhub

Humhub is an open-source enterprise, private social network kit suitable for groups, teams, small to huge businesses. The main aim of it is to boost your business, support your customers, teach your students, organize your football club.

HumHub's installation requires Apache or Nginx server, MySQL or MariaDB database, and 64 MB memory allocated for PHP.

It offers a self-hosted solution that gives full control over your social network. The software was developed on the PHP framework and licensed under the AGPL version 3.

Humhub Features:

1. lightweight
2. powerful
3. comes with a user-friendly interface
4. it comes with a user-friendly interface
5. open- source
6. Flexible
7. Secure
8. Overview and fast access to the most important information
9. It has social tools (post, comment, follow, like…)
10. With it, you can share documents, media files
11. you can customize social network

GitHub - humhub/humhub: HumHub is an Open Source Enterprise Social Network. Easy to install, intuitive to use and extendable with countless freely available modules.

HumHub is an Open Source Enterprise Social Network. Easy to install, intuitive to use and extendable with countless freely available modules. - humhub/humhub

GitHubhumhub

2- Elgg

Elgg is an enterprise social networking engine agile platform that is free to download and use. This is a rapid development framework written in PHP. As the main focus of Elgg is the software development project and that’s why it has main support for agile.

It can manage, ​​govern, protect, and promote the Elgg open-source social network engine. Besides, it provides a stable, commercially and individually independent organization. The application is also available including the Bug Tracker, It provides a robust framework and more.

Elgg is released under the GNU General Public License (GPL) Version 2 and written with PHP.

Elgg Key Features

1. Well-documented core API
2. Composer
3. Flexible system of hooks and events
4. Extendable system of views
5. Cacheable system of static assets
6. User authentication
7. Security
8. Client-side API
9. Flexible entity system
10. Opinionated data model
11. Access control system
12. File storage

GitHub - Elgg/Elgg: A social networking engine in PHP/MySQL

A social networking engine in PHP/MySQL. Contribute to Elgg/Elgg development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHubElgg

3- Oxwall

Oxwall is a free and open-source social marketplace business platform with a simple plugin to keep your Google Analytics tracking without messing with HTML/JavaScript code. It also has a simple interface like Facebook-style.

With it, you can create online and offline events to engage with users. The Oxwall offers private on-site communication, image slideshow, it helps you to built and create your own customized social network.

The Oxwall is a flexible system which offers a Real-time chat for friends written by you.

Oxwall platform is licensed under Common Public Attribution License 1.0. It is written with PHP and uses MySQL as a database.

Oxwall Features

1. Groups, forums, blogs
2. Activity notifications
3. Advertisement
4. Facebook-like newsfeed
5. Photo sharing
6. User roles, permissions, paid upgrades
7. Profile/content moderation
8. Contact importer to invite friends
9. Groups
10. Photo sharing

GitHub - oxwall/oxwall

Contribute to oxwall/oxwall development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHuboxwall

4- Buddypress

Buddypress is a complete WordPress plugin for free business applications. It is software for online communities, teams, and groups. It is aimed to power your community sit.

If you want to use Buddypress easily, it will automatically adapt, showing only the menu items, pages, and buttons for the features you have enabled.

It helps you build any kind of community website, fun and flexible software for online communities

It is based on PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript and runs on macOS, Windows, and Ubuntu

Buddypress Features:

1. All WordPress features and plugins
2. Flexible
3. user profiles
4. groups
5. activity streams
6. notifications
   

GitHub - buddypress/buddypress: BuddyPress DEVELOPMENT repo. This repository is just a mirror of the development SVN at https://buddypress.svn.wordpress.org/. Please include a link to a pre-existing ticket on https://buddypress.trac.wordpress.org/ with every pull request.

BuddyPress DEVELOPMENT repo. This repository is just a mirror of the development SVN at https://buddypress.svn.wordpress.org/. Please include a link to a pre-existing ticket on https://buddypress.t…

GitHubbuddypress

5- Mastodon

Mastodon is a self-hosted and open-source social network server for thousands of communities, not like Twitter or Facebook. It is used by more than 4.4M people, individuals, and organizations.

For individuals, It allows them to consume content and Host their own social media platform on your own infrastructure for organizations.

MASTODON ISN’T A SOCIAL NETWORKING WEBSITE — IT’S A WAY TO HOST ONE YOURSELF

It is released under the AGPL-3.0 license and written with Ruby.

Mastodon Features:

1. comes with effective anti-abuse tools
2. You can use custom emojis
3. You can adjust the thumbnails of your pictures with focal points
4. It hides things behind spoiler warnings
5. You can delete and redraft for quick corrections.

GitHub - mastodon/mastodon: Your self-hosted, globally interconnected microblogging community

Your self-hosted, globally interconnected microblogging community - mastodon/mastodon

GitHubmastodon

6- Wallstant

Wallstant is a tool that helps you to create your own social network. It has a real-time messaging system with a powerful dashboard that allows the admin to edit, remove, and see statistics about all databases. It is also written with PHP language.

Wallstant Features:

1. Open source
2. Fast and Secure
3. Messaging system
4. Emoji system
5. Verify badge
6. Multi-Language
7. Powerful dashboard
8. fast
9. secure
10. easy to install and use

GitHub - wallstant/wallstant: Create your own social network for free with Wallstant social network, easy to install and fast to use .. Make people connected

Create your own social network for free with Wallstant social network, easy to install and fast to use .. Make people connected - wallstant/wallstant

GitHubwallstant

7- Dolphin

The dolphin is another best open-source social network software with Fast, smart, personal. It browses for small businesses.

It offers multiple modules such as Ads, Payments, Photos, Polls, Profile Customizer, Profiler, Chat, Profiler, Desktop, Facebook Connect, and more.

It has wonderful mobile apps, good support for multimedia file types.

Dolphin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license and written in PHP language and uses MySQL for the database. You can download it from the app store and google play.

Dolphin features:

1. Open multiple tabs for all-in-one browsing
2. Quickly access bookmarks and options with a swipe
3. You can sync your data across compatible devices
4. smart voice search
5. Share and sync with Facebook, Evernote, Box, and more
6. customizable
7. Support flash (Android only)

GitHub - boonex/dolphin.pro: Dolphin.Pro - Social Network Platform

Dolphin.Pro - Social Network Platform. Contribute to boonex/dolphin.pro development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHubboonex

8- Hotaru CMS

Hotarucms is a free and open-source CMS software that helps you to run your own social media site. It is used by developers, designers, and many users.

It is released under GPLv3 and written with PHP and uses MySQL as a database.

HotaruCMS Features:

1. It has Free Themes
2. HotaruCMS has over 100 plugins
3. multi-language support
4. It has a great admin interface

HotaruCMS

HotaruCMS has 10 repositories available. Follow their code on GitHub.

GitHub

9- Anahita

Anahita is an open-source social networking platform for developing open science and knowledge-sharing applications.

Anahita Features:

1. It provides a graph architecture
2. It has design patterns for developing social apps
3. used for real-time analysis
4. You can also build your custom apps
5. Super easy to install and use

GitHub - anahitasocial/anahita: Anahita is a platform and framework for developing open science and knowledge sharing applications on a social networking foundation.

Anahita is a platform and framework for developing open science and knowledge sharing applications on a social networking foundation. - anahitasocial/anahita

GitHubanahitasocial

10- Minds

Minds is a free, open source social network dedicated to privacy and freedom. It is an anti-Facebook that pays you for your time.

It helps you to get paid for creating content driving traffic and referring friends

You can download it from the Android App or App store.

Minds Features:

1. Post videos, blogs, images, and statuses
2. Message and video chat securely with groups or directly with friends
3. Discover great content through trending feeds and hashtags
4. You can also receive direct payments in USD, Bitcoin, and Ether from your fans
5. Take back control of your social media

Minds

An open source and decentralized social network. Minds has 56 repositories available. Follow their code on GitHub.

GitHub

11- Mono

Mono is an open-source implementation of Microsoft that builds outstanding software. It allows developers to easily create cross-platform applications.

It is a .NET Framework based on the ECMA standards for C# and the Common Language Runtime.

Mono Features:

1. Customizable
2. It provides design and development services
3. It is transforming big ideas into exceptional products.

GitHub - mono/mono: Mono open source ECMA CLI, C# and .NET implementation.

Mono open source ECMA CLI, C# and .NET implementation. - mono/mono

GitHubmono

12- Jcow

Jcow is an open-source software to create a social website. It is written in PHP and the database uses MySQL.

It has a Facebook-like interface and with it, you can create a social app with no need to learn app programming, build your iOS/Android apps, submit to App Store and Play Store.

Jcow Features:

1. Free
2. Handle large traffic
3. Mobile Friendly
4. Post Boosting system
5. Deeply Google Map integrated
6. URL-preview in the Share box
7. AdSense Optimized
8. We use our own product
9. User and Group suggestions
10. Cross-platform Chat box

Jcow PHP Social Network Script | make your own social website and mobile app

Download 100% source code and make your own social networking website. And get free updates&support.

make your own social website and mobile app

Conclusion

So, we have seen in this list many open-source form builders that are more than enough to be a Self-hosted Social Media Network.

If you have any additional software you would like to see in this list, then we would love to hear about them in the comments.