Answer vs Askbot
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted forums & community options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Answer | Askbot |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 95 · Excellent | 81 · Excellent |
| Category | Forums & Community | Forums & Community |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 15,682 | ★ 1,566 |
| First released | 2022 | 2009 |
| Replaces | Stack Overflow, Confluence | Stack Overflow |
What are Answer and Askbot?
Answer
Answer is an open-source knowledge-based community platform that combines Q&A, articles, and documentation. It is built in Go and designed to be a modern Stack Overflow alternative.
- Q&A with articles and docs
- Single binary deployment
- Reputation and badges
- Plugin system
Askbot
Askbot is an open-source question-and-answer forum platform built with Django, inspired by StackOverflow and Yahoo Answers. It supports tags, voting, reputation, and badges.
- StackOverflow-style Q&A
- Tag-based organization
- Reputation and badges
- Email notifications
Answer vs Askbot: key differences
Answer is written in Go, while Askbot is built with Python. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Answer versus GPL-3.0 for Askbot. Askbot is the more established project (first released 2009), while Answer arrived in 2022. Answer has the considerably larger community, at 15,682 GitHub stars versus 1,566.
Why pick each one
Choose Answer if…
- Modern interface
- Easy to deploy
Watch out for
- Younger project
- Smaller plugin library
Choose Askbot if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.6k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Watch out for
- Dated interface
- Slower development
Frequently asked questions
Is Answer or Askbot better?
Answer is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Askbot if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Answer and Askbot free and open-source?
Yes. Answer is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Askbot under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Answer and Askbot with Docker?
Answer: yes. Askbot: yes.