Discourse vs Loops
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
Loops
Federated short video sharing platform
| Feature | Discourse | Loops |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0-or-later |
| Language | Ruby | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 350 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 47,619 | ★ 437 |
| First released | 2013 | 2025 |
| Replaces | phpBB, Reddit | Instagram, TikTok, YouTube |
Why pick each one
Choose Loops if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0-or-later license
- Written in PHP
- Lightweight — runs in 350 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Discourse or Loops better?
Neither is universally better. Discourse has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Discourse and Loops free and open-source?
Yes. Discourse is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Loops under AGPL-3.0-or-later. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Discourse and Loops with Docker?
Discourse: yes. Loops: check the project docs for container support.