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Habitat vs NodeBB: catalog facts
Habitat	NodeBB
Free Free and open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence.	Freemium Free to self-host; managed hosting is a paid monthly plan.
Self-hosted	Web, Self-hosted
Discussions tied to specific local locations No ads or data harvesting	Self-hosted open-source edition Mobile-ready interface
Small, young project with a limited community Each instance serves one local area	Self-hosting requires Node.js and server maintenance Hosted plans cost money after the trial
Self-hosted	Self-hosted, Hosted service
Open source	Open source
License: AGPL-3.0	License not stated
Not stated if an account is needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.