# Discourse vs LXC

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

| | Discourse | LXC |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 83/100 ✓ | 70/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #1 of 2 in Containers |
| GitHub stars | 48 027 ✓ | 5 289 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +131 ✓ | +25 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 1 | 2 ✓ |
| Latest release | _gh-attach-assets · 15 Jul 2026 ✓ | v7.0.0 · 30 Apr 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Ruby | C |

## Which one should you pick?

Discourse scores 83/100 against 70/100 for LXC, so it is the safer default.

LXC ships more often: 2 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for Discourse.

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

Discourse is growing faster right now (+131 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

## Related comparisons

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

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