FlarumvsOrca
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Flarum | Orca | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 69/100 | 91/100 |
| Rank in category | #6 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #1 of 209 in AI Agents |
| GitHub stars | 6 764 | 109 900 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +12 | +9 993 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 12 | 17 |
| Latest release | v1.8.21 · 23 Oct 2026 | v1.4.244 · 29 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Main language | PHP | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
Orca scores 91/100 against 69/100 for Flarum, so it is the safer default.
Orca ships more often: 17 stable releases in the past year, against 12 for Flarum.
If you want the quickest setup, Orca is easier to run; Flarum needs more configuration.
Orca is growing faster right now (+9 993 stars in 30 days).
Flarum details →Orca details →