# Discourse vs Joplin

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

| | Discourse | Joplin |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 83/100 | 83/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #2 of 81 in Notes & Editors |
| GitHub stars | 48 027 | 56 921 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +131 | +441 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 1 | 18 ✓ |
| Latest release | _gh-attach-assets · 15 Jul 2026 | v3.7.22 · 28 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Ruby | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

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

Joplin ships more often: 18 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for Discourse.

Joplin is growing faster right now (+441 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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