# Discourse vs Tailchat

> Two self-hosted [Slack alternatives](https://selfhost.directory/alternative-to/slack), compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | Discourse | Tailchat |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 83/100 ✓ | 63/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #6 of 13 in Instant Messaging |
| GitHub stars | 48 024 ✓ | 3 642 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +135 ✓ | +9 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 1 | 7 ✓ |
| Latest release | _gh-attach-assets · 15 Jul 2026 | v1.11.18 · 2 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Ruby | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

Discourse scores 83/100 against 63/100 for Tailchat, so it is the safer default.

Tailchat ships more often: 7 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for Discourse.

Discourse is growing faster right now (+135 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

## Related comparisons

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

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