DiscoursevsWhirl
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Discourse | Whirl | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 83/100 | 52/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #23 of 69 in AI Chat |
| GitHub stars | 48 027 | 510 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +131 | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 1 | 0 |
| Latest release | _gh-attach-assets · 15 Jul 2026 | — |
| Setup | Moderate | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Ruby | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
Discourse scores 83/100 against 52/100 for Whirl, so it is the safer default.
Discourse ships more often: 1 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Whirl.
If you want the quickest setup, Discourse is easier to run; Whirl needs more configuration.
Discourse is growing faster right now (+131 stars in 30 days).
Discourse details →Whirl details →