Mastodon, Threads, and Bluesky may be popular options, but how do they compare to Hubzilla?
This table compares decentralized social media platforms. Some of the terminology is different between platforms, but the core concepts are the same. We have included the terminology each platform uses (where there is enough space to do so).
For example, on Mastodon and Bluesky, you create an "account" which serves as your online identity and social media presence, but on Hubzilla it's called a "channel," and on Threads it's called a "profile." In other words, a "channel" is the equivalent of a Mastodon account or Bluesky account or Threads profile. We will use the term "channel" throughout to make the table simpler.
 Hubzilla |
 Mastodon |
 Threads |
 Bluesky |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Features and Content Types | Hubzilla | Mastodon | Threads | Bluesky |
| Social Media | ||||
| Microblogging (Short Posts - typically 500 characters or less) | ||||
| Macroblogging (Long Posts) | ||||
| Rich Text (bold, italics, quotes, code blocks, embedded content, etc.) | ||||
| Threaded Conversations (Forum-style / Facebook-style) | ||||
| Direct Messages (DMs) | ||||
| Repeats / Boosts / Reposts (send someone's post to your followers) | repeat | boost | repost | |
| Shares / Quote Posts (create a new post quoting another post) | share | quote post | quote post | |
| Scheduled Posts | ||||
| Bookmark Posts | ||||
| Addons / Applications (Apps) (additional features that users can activate) | ||||
| Blog (Articles) | app | |||
| Wiki (Personal or Shared Wikis) | app | |||
| Web Pages (HTML, BBCode, Markdown) | app | |||
| Image Gallery | ||||
| Files (Cloud Storage) | ||||
| Events / Calendar | ||||
| Polls | ||||
| Lists (create lists of channels to follow) | privacy groups | lists | lists | |
| Follow RSS Feeds | ||||
| Import RSS Feeds and Publish on a Channel | ||||
| Channel Types | Hubzilla | Mastodon | Threads | Bluesky |
| Public Channels | public | |||
| Private Channels (friends & connections only) | personal | |||
| Community Forums / Discussion Groups | forum | |||
| Custom Channels with Unique Permissions | custom | |||
| Access Control / Post Permissions | Hubzilla | Mastodon | Threads | Bluesky |
| Public Posts | ||||
| Posts Visible Only to Friends / Connections | ||||
| Posts Visible Only to Specific People | ||||
| Posts Visible Only to Specific Privacy Groups | ||||
| Control Membership in Forums / Discussion Groups | ||||
| Control Access to Content (Articles, Wiki, Web Pages, etc.) | ||||
| Disable Comments / Prevent Replies to Your Posts | ||||
| Block Channels / Actors | ||||
| Social Identity | Hubzilla | Mastodon | Threads | Bluesky |
| Cross-Platform Social Identity (recognized on multiple servers) | channel | account | profile | account |
| Multiple Identities under the Same Login Account | channels | profiles | ||
| Clone Identity on Multiple Servers (at same time) | ||||
| Sync Identity between Cloned Channels | ||||
| Migrate Identity to Another Server | ||||
| Download Backup of Identity (Export / Import) | ||||
| Federated Single Sign On (log into other servers with your identity) | ||||
| Content Backups, Cloning, and Migration | Hubzilla | Mastodon | Threads | Bluesky |
| Sync Posts between Cloned Channels | ||||
| Migrate Content to Another Server | ||||
| Download Backup of Content (Export / Import) | ||||
| Export Content | ||||
| Networks and Protocols | Hubzilla | Mastodon | Threads | Bluesky |
| Nomad Network / Zot Protocol | ||||
| Magic Sign On / OpenWebAuth (OWA) | ||||
| ActivityPub | optional | optional | ||
| AT Protocol | ||||
| Diaspora | optional | |||
| Bridgy Fed (Multi-Protocol Bridge) | optional | optional | optional | optional |
| OpenID | optional | |||
| OAuth2 | optional | |||
| Post Feeds / Syndication (RSS / Atom) | Atom | RSS | ||
| Mobile and Desktop Apps | Hubzilla | Mastodon | Threads | Bluesky |
| Mobile App (including third party apps) | ||||
| Progressive Web App (PWA) | ||||
| Google Play | ||||
| Apple iOS | ||||
| Microsoft Store | ||||
| Amazon Appstore | ||||
| F-Droid | ||||
| Customization and Mods | Hubzilla | Mastodon | Threads | Bluesky |
| Dark Mode / Light Mode | ||||
| Customize Layout of Your Channel | ||||
| Select Theme for Your Channel | ||||
| Change Color Scheme of Theme (if supported by the theme) | ||||
| Add Widgets to Your Channel & Pages (adds additional functionality) | ||||
| Addons / Plugins / Apps (adds additional functionality) | ||||
| Software | ||||
| Open Source | MIT | AGPL | MIT/Apache | |
| Self-Host (run your own server on your own domain) | ||||
| Fully Decentralized (does not depend on centralized services to operate) | ||||
| Key | ||||
| = Supported feature. | ||||
| = Optional feature that usually has to be activated. Some servers may have this feature disabled or limit your options. |
||||
| = Supported, but not necessarily in a way that you expect. May require advanced configuration or extra steps. | ||||
| = Supported via a Third Party. | ||||
| = Not supported. | ||||
| Note: Administrators have the option to change the configuration of their own server, which may effect the features that are available to users. | ||||