Mastodon vs Discourse
Both in Social media — compared item by item
| Mastodon | Discourse | |
|---|---|---|
| Stars | ★ 50.3k | ★ 47.9k |
| Language | Ruby | Ruby |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Last updated | 2026-09-22 | 2026-09-23 |
| Usage | 🐳 Self-hosted | 🐳 Self-hosted |
| Platforms | — | — |
| Category | Social media | Social media |
How to choose
- They support exactly the same usage modes; the difference is in ecosystem and implementation details.
- Both have comparable traction, so pick based on features and day-to-day experience.
- Discourse was updated more recently (2026-09-23).
- Different licenses (AGPL-3.0 vs GPL-2.0) — check the terms before commercial use.