Discourse vs Hometown
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
Hometown
Mastodon fork with local-only posting
| Feature | Discourse | Hometown |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 47,619 | ★ 819 |
| First released | 2013 | 2019 |
| Replaces | phpBB, Reddit | Twitter, Mastodon |
Why pick each one
Choose Hometown if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Ruby
Frequently asked questions
Is Discourse or Hometown better?
Discourse is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Hometown if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Discourse and Hometown free and open-source?
Yes. Discourse is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Hometown under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Discourse and Hometown with Docker?
Discourse: yes. Hometown: yes.