Discourse vs Gathio
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Discourse
Modern open-source community discussion platform
VS
Gathio
Simple, federated event hosting without accounts
| Feature | Discourse | Gathio |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 47,619 | ★ 456 |
| First released | 2013 | 2019 |
| Replaces | phpBB, Reddit | Facebook Events, Eventbrite |
Why pick each one
Choose Gathio if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Discourse or Gathio better?
Neither is universally better. Discourse has the larger community, while Gathio is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Discourse and Gathio free and open-source?
Yes. Discourse is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Gathio under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Discourse and Gathio with Docker?
Discourse: yes. Gathio: yes.