Spectrum vs vichan
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?
Spectrum
Open-source platform for building online communities
VS
vichan
Lightweight image board software
| Feature | Spectrum | vichan |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Forums & Community | Forums & Community |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | Tinyboard |
| Language | JavaScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,837 | ★ 770 |
| First released | 2017 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Discord, Discourse | 4chan-style boards |
Why pick each one
Choose Spectrum if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 10.8k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
Choose vichan if…
- Released under the Tinyboard license
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Spectrum or vichan better?
Neither is universally better. Spectrum has the larger community, while vichan is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Spectrum and vichan free and open-source?
Yes. Spectrum is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and vichan under Tinyboard. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Spectrum and vichan with Docker?
Spectrum: yes. vichan: check the project docs for container support.