# Discourse vs Novu

> 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.

## Details

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