FlarumvsForem Selfhost
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Flarum | Forem Selfhost | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 69/100 | 51/100 |
| Rank in category | #6 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #2 of 6 in Community |
| GitHub stars | 6 764 | 1 480 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +13 | — |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 12 | 0 |
| Latest release | v1.8.21 · 23 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Moderate | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | PHP | Jinja |
Which one should you pick?
Flarum scores 69/100 against 51/100 for Forem Selfhost, so it is the safer default.
Flarum ships more often: 12 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Forem Selfhost.
If you want the quickest setup, Flarum is easier to run; Forem Selfhost needs more configuration.
Flarum is growing faster right now (+13 stars in 30 days).
Flarum details →Forem Selfhost details →