Answervselement-web
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Answer | element-web | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 71/100 | 75/100 |
| Rank in category | #5 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #2 of 33 in Communication |
| GitHub stars | 15 702 | 13 621 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +20 | +119 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 6 | 17 |
| Latest release | v2.0.3 · 22 Sept 2026 | v1.12.33 · 27 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Easy | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Go | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
element-web scores 75/100 against 71/100 for Answer, so it is the safer default.
element-web ships more often: 17 stable releases in the past year, against 6 for Answer.
If you want the quickest setup, Answer is easier to run; element-web needs more configuration.
element-web is growing faster right now (+119 stars in 30 days).
Answer details →element-web details →