DiscoursevsNova Server
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Discourse | Nova Server | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 83/100 | 46/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #20 of 25 in Proxy |
| GitHub stars | 48 027 | 355 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +131 | +1 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 1 | 9 |
| Latest release | _gh-attach-assets · 15 Jul 2026 | v1.92.2 · 24 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Ruby | Shell |
Which one should you pick?
Discourse scores 83/100 against 46/100 for Nova Server, so it is the safer default.
Nova Server ships more often: 9 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for Discourse.
Discourse is growing faster right now (+131 stars in 30 days).
Discourse details →Nova Server details →