Forem vs Tildes
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?
| Feature | Forem | Tildes |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Forums & Community | Forums & Community |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 22,760 | ★ 1,000 |
| First released | 2019 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Discourse, Reddit |
Why pick each one
Choose Forem if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 22.8k GitHub stars
- Written in Ruby
Choose Tildes if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Active community (1k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Forem or Tildes better?
Neither is universally better. Forem has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Forem and Tildes free and open-source?
Yes. Forem is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Tildes under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Forem and Tildes with Docker?
Forem: yes. Tildes: check the project docs for container support.