# Discourse vs Transformer Lab

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

| | Discourse | Transformer Lab |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 83/100 ✓ | 61/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #12 of 25 in LLM Inference |
| GitHub stars | 48 027 ✓ | 5 200 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +131 ✓ | +3 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 1 | 9 ✓ |
| Latest release | _gh-attach-assets · 15 Jul 2026 ✓ | v0.40.1 · 19 Jun 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Ruby | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

Discourse scores 83/100 against 61/100 for Transformer Lab, so it is the safer default.

Transformer Lab 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).

## Details

- [Discourse](https://selfhost.directory/project/discourse) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/discourse.md)
- [Transformer Lab](https://selfhost.directory/project/transformerlab-app) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/transformerlab-app.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-transformerlab-app