# cobalt vs Discourse

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

| | cobalt | Discourse |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 83/100 | 83/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 45 in Download Management | #1 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums |
| GitHub stars | 45 608 | 48 029 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 798 ✓ | +133 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 1 ✓ |
| Latest release | — | _gh-attach-assets · 15 Jul 2026 |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Main language | Svelte | Ruby |

## Which one should you pick?

cobalt and Discourse score the same (83/100), so the choice comes down to the details below.

Discourse ships more often: 1 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for cobalt.

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

cobalt is growing faster right now (+1 798 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [cobalt](https://selfhost.directory/project/cobalt) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/cobalt.md)
- [Discourse](https://selfhost.directory/project/discourse) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/discourse.md)

## Related comparisons

- [Discourse vs Rocket.Chat](https://selfhost.directory/compare/discourse-vs-rocketchat)
- [Discourse vs Zulip](https://selfhost.directory/compare/discourse-vs-zulip)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/cobalt-vs-discourse