SHSelfHostIndex

Lobsters vs Sublinks

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
LO Lobsters Computing-focused link aggregation and discussion site VS SU Sublinks Reddit-style federated link aggregator backend
FeatureLobstersSublinks
CategoryForums & CommunitySocial Networks
LicenseBSD-3-ClauseAGPL-3.0
LanguageRubyJava
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM512 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcedocker, source
GitHub stars★ 4,814★ 80
First released20122023
ReplacesReddit, Hacker NewsReddit

Why pick each one

Choose Lobsters if…

  • Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
  • Active community (4.8k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Ruby
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Lobsters details

Choose Sublinks if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in Java
Sublinks details

Frequently asked questions

Is Lobsters or Sublinks better?

Lobsters is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Sublinks if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Lobsters and Sublinks free and open-source?

Yes. Lobsters is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Sublinks under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Lobsters and Sublinks with Docker?

Lobsters: check the project docs for container support. Sublinks: yes.

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