Loomio vs Flarum: Decision-Making vs Forum Discussion
If you need a community platform but aren’t sure whether your group needs structured decision-making or open-ended discussion, the choice between Loomio and Flarum clarifies your priorities.
Quick Verdict
Loomio is a decision-making tool with seven voting types, group proposals, and outcome tracking. Flarum is a discussion forum with threads, tags, and extensions. They solve fundamentally different problems. If your group needs to reach decisions (board votes, team consensus, community governance), choose Loomio. If your group needs ongoing topical discussion, choose Flarum.
Overview
Loomio grew out of the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2012, designed to help groups make decisions without meeting in person. Its core feature isn’t discussion — it’s structured voting. Members create proposals, everyone votes (agree, abstain, disagree, block), and the group reaches a documented outcome. It also supports polls, ranked choice, score voting, dot voting, and time polls. Discussion exists to serve the decision-making process.
Flarum is a modern forum platform built on Laravel (PHP). Users create topics in categories, reply in threads, and the community organizes around ongoing conversations. There’s no voting or decision infrastructure — discussions flow freely, moderated by community norms and admin tools. The extension ecosystem adds features like Markdown, polls (basic), and SSO.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Loomio | Flarum |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Purpose | Group decision-making | Forum discussions |
| Voting Types | 7 (proposal, poll, score, ranked choice, time, dot vote, check) | None (basic poll extension available) |
| Threaded Discussion | Yes (tied to proposals) | Yes (standalone threads) |
| Categories/Tags | Subgroups | Tags + categories |
| Real-time Editing | Yes (Hocuspocus collaborative editor) | No |
| Email Integration | Deep (participate via email replies) | Notifications only |
| File Attachments | Yes | Yes (extension) |
| Search | Built-in | Built-in |
| SSO/LDAP | SAML, OAuth | Extensions available |
| API | REST | REST |
| Mobile Experience | Responsive web | Responsive web |
| Extension/Plugin System | Limited | 200+ extensions |
| Docker Image | loomio/loomio:3.0.21 | crazymax/flarum:1.8.9 |
Installation Complexity
Loomio runs 5 containers: the application, a background worker, Hocuspocus (collaborative editing), PostgreSQL, and Redis. SMTP configuration is practically mandatory — Loomio’s design assumes email-based participation. Without working email, you lose a core workflow. Configuration involves 15+ environment variables including secret keys, SMTP credentials, and the base URL.
Flarum needs 2 containers: the app and MariaDB. No email is required for basic operation (though notifications benefit from it). Configuration is minimal — database credentials and a base URL.
| Setup Aspect | Loomio | Flarum |
|---|---|---|
| Containers | 5 (app, worker, hocuspocus, PostgreSQL, Redis) | 2 (app, MariaDB) |
| SMTP Required | Practically yes | No (optional) |
| Config Variables | 15+ | 5-8 |
| First-Run Setup | Admin account via environment variables | CLI install command |
| Time to First Use | 15-20 min | 5-10 min |
Performance and Resource Usage
| Resource | Loomio | Flarum |
|---|---|---|
| RAM (idle) | 710 MB (5 containers) | 256-512 MB (2 containers) |
| RAM (active, 20 users) | 1.4 GB | 512-768 MB |
| CPU (minimum) | 1 core | 1 core |
| CPU (recommended) | 2 cores | 2 cores |
| Disk (minimum) | 10 GB | 5 GB |
| Minimum VPS | 2 GB RAM | 1 GB RAM |
Loomio’s 5-container architecture consumes more baseline resources. The Hocuspocus service (collaborative editing) and Redis cache add overhead that Flarum simply doesn’t have. For a small cooperative or board, 2 GB RAM is the practical minimum. Flarum runs comfortably on a 1 GB VPS.
Community and Support
| Metric | Loomio | Flarum |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub Stars | ~2.5k | ~15k |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| First Release | 2013 | 2015 |
| Active Development | Yes | Yes |
| Commercial Version | Loomio Cooperative (hosted) | Community only |
| Documentation | Good (governance focused) | Good (developer focused) |
| Target Users | Cooperatives, boards, NGOs | Online communities |
Flarum has a much larger community (15k vs 2.5k stars) and a richer extension ecosystem. Loomio is a niche tool with a dedicated user base in cooperatives, non-profits, and governance-focused organizations. Loomio is backed by a worker-owned cooperative (Loomio Cooperative) in New Zealand that also offers a hosted version.
Use Cases
Choose Loomio If…
- Your group makes formal decisions that need documented outcomes (votes, proposals, resolutions)
- You’re a cooperative, non-profit board, community governance body, or committee
- Members participate primarily via email and need to vote without visiting the web UI
- You need ranked choice voting, score voting, or dot voting for group prioritization
- Accountability matters — you need a record of who voted what and why
- Collaborative proposal editing is important (multiple authors refining a proposal before vote)
Choose Flarum If…
- Your community needs ongoing, open-ended topical discussion
- You’re building a support forum, community hub, or knowledge-sharing platform
- You want a lightweight setup with minimal server requirements
- Extension customization is important (200+ extensions for features like Markdown, polls, SEO)
- You need a familiar forum experience with categories, tags, and search
- MIT licensing matters (more permissive than Loomio’s AGPL)
Final Verdict
If [your group needs to reach decisions], Loomio is purpose-built and nothing else in the self-hosted space matches its voting depth — seven voting types with outcome tracking, email participation, and decision history. No forum extension can replicate this.
If your group needs to have discussions, Flarum is the lighter, more flexible platform with a larger ecosystem. Adding a basic poll extension to Flarum doesn’t make it a decision-making tool — and adding a discussion thread to Loomio doesn’t make it a forum. Choose the tool that matches your primary workflow.
FAQ
Can Flarum do polls like Loomio?
Flarum has a basic poll extension that supports yes/no and multiple-choice polls. Loomio offers seven voting types including ranked choice, score voting, and dot voting with documented outcomes. They’re not comparable.
Is Loomio good for general community discussion?
Loomio has threaded discussions, but they exist to support decision-making — not as an open-ended forum. If discussion is the primary activity, Flarum or Discourse are better choices.
Can I run both for the same community?
Yes. Some organizations use Flarum for day-to-day discussion and Loomio for formal votes. Cross-link between them for context.
Does Loomio support anonymous voting?
Some poll types allow anonymous responses, but proposals (the core feature) show who voted what. This transparency is intentional — it’s designed for accountable governance.
Related
Get self-hosting tips in your inbox
Get the Docker Compose configs, hardware picks, and setup shortcuts we don't put in articles. Weekly. No spam.
Comments