Forem SelfhostvsZulip
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Forem Selfhost | Zulip | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 51/100 | 82/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 6 in Community | #1 of 110 in Chat |
| GitHub stars | 1 480 | 26 134 |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +191 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 6 |
| Latest release | — | 12.3 · 21 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Jinja | Python |
Which one should you pick?
Zulip scores 82/100 against 51/100 for Forem Selfhost, so it is the safer default.
Zulip ships more often: 6 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Forem Selfhost.
If you want the quickest setup, Zulip is easier to run; Forem Selfhost needs more configuration.
Zulip is growing faster right now (+191 stars in 30 days).
Forem Selfhost details →Zulip details →