Shapado vs Laravel.io
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?
Shapado
Open-source question and answer community software
VS
Laravel.io
Self-hosted forum built on the Laravel framework
| Feature | Shapado | Laravel.io |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Forums & Community | Forums & Community |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Ruby | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 527 | ★ 2,497 |
| First released | 2009 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Stack Overflow, Quora | phpBB |
Why pick each one
Choose Shapado if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Written in Ruby
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose Laravel.io if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (2.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Shapado or Laravel.io better?
Laravel.io is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Shapado if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Shapado and Laravel.io free and open-source?
Yes. Shapado is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Laravel.io under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Shapado and Laravel.io with Docker?
Shapado: check the project docs for container support. Laravel.io: check the project docs for container support.