Fider vs Spectrum
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted forums & community options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Fider
Open platform for collecting and voting on feedback
VS
Spectrum
Open-source platform for building online communities
| Feature | Fider | Spectrum |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Forums & Community | Forums & Community |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Go | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,458 | ★ 10,837 |
| First released | 2017 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Canny, UserVoice | Discord, Discourse |
Why pick each one
Choose Fider if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (4.5k GitHub stars)
Choose Spectrum if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 10.8k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Fider or Spectrum better?
Neither is universally better. Spectrum has the larger community, while Fider is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Fider and Spectrum free and open-source?
Yes. Fider is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Spectrum under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Fider and Spectrum with Docker?
Fider: yes. Spectrum: yes.