Flarumvstidb
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Flarum | tidb | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 69/100 | 80/100 |
| Rank in category | #6 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #4 of 38 in Databases |
| GitHub stars | 6 764 | 40 687 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +12 | +100 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 12 | 2 |
| Latest release | v1.8.21 · 23 Oct 2026 | v8.5.8 · 27 Aug 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | PHP | Go |
Which one should you pick?
tidb 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 2 for tidb.
If you want the quickest setup, Flarum is easier to run; tidb needs more configuration.
tidb is growing faster right now (+100 stars in 30 days).
Flarum details →tidb details →