# marchat vs NodeBB

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

| | marchat | NodeBB |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 49/100 | 73/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #51 of 110 in Chat | #4 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums |
| GitHub stars | 139 | 15 243 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +18 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 12 | 31 ✓ |
| Latest release | v1.3.8 · 1 Oct 2026 | v4.16.5 · 28 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Go | JavaScript |

## Which one should you pick?

NodeBB scores 73/100 against 49/100 for marchat, so it is the safer default.

NodeBB ships more often: 31 stable releases in the past year, against 12 for marchat.

NodeBB is growing faster right now (+18 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [marchat](https://selfhost.directory/project/marchat) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/marchat.md)
- [NodeBB](https://selfhost.directory/project/nodebb) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/nodebb.md)

---
Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/marchat-vs-nodebb