head to head · open source
symphony vs Valour
symphony has 2,943 GitHub stars, 507 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 11 days ago. Valour has 398 stars, 39 forks, 88 open issues and last shipped 11 days ago. symphony leads on adoption by 639% (2,943 vs 398 stars). symphony is written in Java under AGPL-3.0; Valour is written in C# under AGPL-3.0. symphony has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, Valour 10%. Valour was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| symphony | Valour | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 2.9K | ★ 398 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Java | C# |
| Last push | 2026-09-09 | 2026-09-09 |
| Forks | ⑂ 507 | ⑂ 39 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick symphony if
- You weight community size — 2.9K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Valour if
- You want the Valour feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and Valour fits your workflow better
About symphony
Symphony is a community platform implemented in Java under the AGPL 3.0 license. It combines a discussion forum, a Q&A site, a social network with sharing, friends, and games, and blog like publishing in one system. The project lives in the Java ecosystem and is published through the B3log website and official discussion area.
read the full symphony overview →
About Valour
Valour is an open source community platform written in C and .NET with a Blazor client, licensed AGPL 3.0, intended for people who want to run or join social communities — called planets — on infrastructure they control rather than on a vendor's servers.
read the full Valour overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is symphony or Valour more popular?
symphony has 2,943 GitHub stars and Valour has 398. symphony has the larger community by that measure.
Are symphony and Valour free?
Both are open source. symphony is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Valour under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between symphony and Valour?
symphony is written in Java and Valour in C#. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, symphony or Valour?
Choose symphony if you want the larger community (2,943 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Valour if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.