DiscoursevsNovu
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Discourse | Novu | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 83/100 | 76/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #2 of 19 in Notifications |
| GitHub stars | 48 029 | 40 220 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +133 | +160 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 1 | 12 |
| Latest release | _gh-attach-assets · 15 Jul 2026 | @novu/framework@v2.14.0 · 28 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Ruby | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
Discourse scores 83/100 against 76/100 for Novu, so it is the safer default.
Novu ships more often: 12 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for Discourse.
If you want the quickest setup, Discourse is easier to run; Novu needs more configuration.
Discourse details →Novu details →