chatwootvsDiscourse
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| chatwoot | Discourse | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 84/100 | 83/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 14 in Customer Support | #1 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums |
| GitHub stars | 38 505 | 48 024 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 383 | +135 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 18 | 1 |
| Latest release | v4.19.1 · 24 Oct 2026 | _gh-attach-assets · 15 Jul 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Other | GPL-2.0 |
| Main language | Ruby | Ruby |
Which one should you pick?
chatwoot scores 84/100 against 83/100 for Discourse, so it is the safer default.
chatwoot ships more often: 18 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for Discourse.
If you want the quickest setup, Discourse is easier to run; chatwoot needs more configuration.
chatwoot is growing faster right now (+1 383 stars in 30 days).
chatwoot details →Discourse details →