# Flarum vs paperclip

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

| | Flarum | paperclip |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 69/100 | 88/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #6 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #4 of 124 in AI |
| GitHub stars | 6 764 | 108 536 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +12 | +25 712 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 12 ✓ | 10 |
| Latest release | v1.8.21 · 23 Oct 2026 ✓ | v2026.1012.0 · 12 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Main language | PHP | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

paperclip scores 88/100 against 69/100 for Flarum, so it is the safer default.

Flarum ships more often: 12 stable releases in the past year, against 10 for paperclip.

paperclip is growing faster right now (+25 712 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [Flarum](https://selfhost.directory/project/flarum) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/flarum.md)
- [paperclip](https://selfhost.directory/project/paperclip) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/paperclip.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/flarum-vs-paperclip