DiscoursevsZed Attack Proxy (ZAP)
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Discourse | Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 83/100 | 80/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #4 of 78 in Security |
| GitHub stars | 48 024 | 16 058 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +135 | +243 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 1 | 31 |
| Latest release | _gh-attach-assets · 15 Jul 2026 | w2026-10-23 · 23 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Ruby | Java |
Which one should you pick?
Discourse scores 83/100 against 80/100 for Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP), so it is the safer default.
Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) ships more often: 31 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for Discourse.
If you want the quickest setup, Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) is easier to run; Discourse needs more configuration.
Discourse details →Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) details →