Lainchan 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 | Lainchan | Tildes |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Forums & Community | Forums & Community |
| License | Tinyboard | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 594 | ★ 1,000 |
| First released | 2014 | 2018 |
| Replaces | 4chan-style boards |
Why pick each one
Choose Lainchan if…
- Released under the Tinyboard license
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose Tildes if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Active community (1k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Lainchan or Tildes better?
Neither is universally better. Tildes has the larger community, while Lainchan is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Lainchan and Tildes free and open-source?
Yes. Lainchan is licensed under Tinyboard and Tildes under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Lainchan and Tildes with Docker?
Lainchan: check the project docs for container support. Tildes: check the project docs for container support.