head to head · open source
talkyard vs Loops
talkyard has 1,815 GitHub stars, 127 forks, 127 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. Loops has 465 stars, 63 forks, 42 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. talkyard leads on adoption by 290% (1,815 vs 465 stars). talkyard is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; Loops is written in PHP under AGPL-3.0. talkyard has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Loops 14%. Loops 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
| talkyard | Loops | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 1.8K | ★ 465 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-07-13 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 127 | ⑂ 63 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick talkyard if
- You weight community size — 1.8K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Loops if
- You want the Loops feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and Loops fits your workflow better
About talkyard
Talkyard ============================= Forum software, with chat, and anonymous comments. Thoughtful discussions.  Insightful comments rise to the top. Upvote ideas.  Sort by votes. Question Answers.  Discuss, select an answer. Chat channels.  Pretty basic features. Blog comments.  Listen to your readers. How does it compare with other software?   Find out here . Self Hosting:   See talkyard prod one Demo:   Discussion forum:   Documentation:   (incomplete) Development:   That's this repo! See: docs/developing talkyard.md Features Good…
read the full talkyard overview →
About Loops
Loops The short video sharing platform for the social web. Federated, open source, creator friendly, and powered by ActivityPub . Website · API Documentation · Installation · Server List About Loops Loops is a federated, open source platform for sharing short videos. It gives creators and communities a modern short video experience without locking them into a centralized platform. This repository contains the Loops server and web application. Communities can operate their own Loops instance while connecting with people across Loops, Pixelfed, Mastodon, and other compatible ActivityPub platforms. Highlights…
read the full Loops overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is talkyard or Loops more popular?
talkyard has 1,815 GitHub stars and Loops has 465. talkyard has the larger community by that measure.
Are talkyard and Loops free?
Both are open source. talkyard is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Loops under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between talkyard and Loops?
talkyard is written in TypeScript and Loops in PHP. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, talkyard or Loops?
Choose talkyard if you want the larger community (1,815 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Loops if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.