# Lemmy vs OpenWA

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

| | Lemmy | OpenWA |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 75/100 | 77/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #3 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #2 of 19 in API Management |
| GitHub stars | 14 651 | 16 333 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +44 | +327 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 3 |
| Latest release | 0.19.21 · 26 Oct 2026 | v0.26.0 · 28 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Rust | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

OpenWA scores 77/100 against 75/100 for Lemmy, so it is the safer default.

If you want the quickest setup, OpenWA is easier to run; Lemmy needs more configuration.

OpenWA is growing faster right now (+327 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [Lemmy](https://selfhost.directory/project/lemmy) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/lemmy.md)
- [OpenWA](https://selfhost.directory/project/openwa) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/openwa.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/lemmy-vs-openwa