FlarumvsShields
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Flarum | Shields | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 69/100 | 80/100 |
| Rank in category | #6 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #6 of 166 in Developer Tools |
| GitHub stars | 6 764 | 27 331 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +12 | +125 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 12 | 0 |
| Latest release | v1.8.21 · 23 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | PHP | JavaScript |
Which one should you pick?
Shields scores 80/100 against 69/100 for Flarum, so it is the safer default.
Flarum ships more often: 12 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Shields.
If you want the quickest setup, Shields is easier to run; Flarum needs more configuration.
Shields is growing faster right now (+125 stars in 30 days).
Flarum details →Shields details →