# bookwyrm vs OpenWA

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | bookwyrm | OpenWA |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 58/100 | 77/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #26 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #2 of 19 in API Management |
| GitHub stars | 2 806 | 16 334 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +21 | +328 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 11 ✓ | 3 |
| Latest release | v0.9.3 · 9 Sept 2026 | v0.26.0 · 28 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Other | MIT |
| Main language | Python | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

OpenWA scores 77/100 against 58/100 for bookwyrm, so it is the safer default.

bookwyrm ships more often: 11 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for OpenWA.

If you want the quickest setup, OpenWA is easier to run; bookwyrm needs more configuration.

OpenWA is growing faster right now (+328 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [bookwyrm](https://selfhost.directory/project/bookwyrm) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/bookwyrm.md)
- [OpenWA](https://selfhost.directory/project/openwa) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/openwa.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/bookwyrm-vs-openwa