Discuit vs Tildes
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted forums & community options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Discuit | Tildes |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Forums & Community | Forums & Community |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 552 | ★ 1,000 |
| First released | 2023 | 2018 |
| Replaces |
What are Discuit and Tildes?
Discuit
Discuit is an open-source link aggregator and community discussion platform similar to Reddit, where users create and moderate their own communities. It is the software behind the discuit.org network.
- Community-based discussions
- Link and text posts
- Self-hostable backend
- Reddit-style voting
Tildes
Tildes is the open-source code behind a non-profit, ad-free community discussion site organized into topic groups. It emphasizes thoughtful conversation through invite-based membership and gentle moderation tools.
- Topic-group structure
- Invite-based growth
- Comment tagging
- Ad-free by design
Discuit vs Tildes: key differences
Discuit is written in TypeScript, while Tildes is built with Python. Discuit is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Tildes. Tildes is the more established project (first released 2018), while Discuit arrived in 2023. Discuit lists first-class Docker deployment; Tildes does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Discuit if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in TypeScript
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose Tildes if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Active community (1k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Discuit or Tildes better?
Neither is universally better. Tildes has the larger community, while Discuit is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Discuit and Tildes free and open-source?
Yes. Discuit is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Tildes under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Discuit and Tildes with Docker?
Discuit: yes. Tildes: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Discuit or Tildes?
Discuit has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Tildes. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.