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All three can be self-hosted on AWS, but they are different products and have different documented resource baselines. Discourse publishes small-server minimums for its Docker-based install; Chatwoot publishes both minimum and production-recommended resources; Mastodon’s requirements depend on activity, federation, media retention, and how its services are split. None of those figures is a complete AWS architecture or a universal EC2 instance recommendation.
Which platform fits your use case?
Choose the application before sizing the server: infrastructure requirements follow from what the software does and how it is used.
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- Mastodon is federated social networking. A self-hosted instance connects to other servers, processes background work, and may retain substantial uploaded media. Its [self-hosting overview] identifies a domain, an always-connected VPS, and email delivery as requirements; object storage is optional.
- Discourse is a community forum. Its [installation guide] says its only officially supported installs are Docker-based and require SSH access to a 64-bit Linux server.
- Chatwoot is a customer-support platform. Its [self-hosted guide] describes Linux VM, Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud deployment routes, including AWS options.
These are not substitutes for one another: compare the user workflow, integrations, data-residency needs, and operational responsibilities—not just server size.
What resources do the official guides specify?
The figures below are software publishers’ stated deployment baselines, not independent benchmarks. Discourse’s cloud guide was accessed October 4, 2026; Chatwoot’s guide publication date is not stated in the available source.
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| Platform | Documented minimum | Recommended or production guidance | AWS connection and qualifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mastodon | Not stated as a universal CPU, RAM, or disk floor in the cited source-install guide. | Not stated as a universal server-size recommendation. Needs vary with activity, federation, media, and service layout. | The [configuration guide] names Amazon S3 as an object-storage option. That does not specify an EC2 size or a complete AWS design. |
| Discourse | 1 CPU core, 1 GB RAM with swap, and 10 GB disk, according to the [cloud install guide]. | 2 or more CPU cores, 2 GB or more RAM, and 20 GB or more disk in the same guide. | The cloud guide names AWS EC2 as a supported cloud provider. The figures are starting points, not a workload guarantee or an EC2 instance prescription. |
| Chatwoot | 2 CPU cores, 4 GB RAM, and 20 GB SSD, according to its [self-hosted guide]. | For production: 4 or more cores, 8 GB or more RAM, and 50 GB or more SSD, plus PostgreSQL 12+, Redis 6+, and an Nginx-like reverse proxy. | The guide lists AWS EC2, ECS, and Marketplace deployment options. It does not provide a complete AWS bill of materials. |
For Discourse, a small test forum may fit a modest single-host Docker deployment. A production community should validate sizing against its users, plugins, uploads, email, and reliability targets. Chatwoot’s production guidance starts materially above its minimum. Mastodon needs estimates that account for federation, background jobs, media volume, and moderation. These are planning implications of the documented components, not performance benchmarks.
What does self-hosting each app involve on AWS?
Mastodon: plan for several cooperating services
Mastodon’s [source-install instructions] specify a root-access machine running Ubuntu 24.04 or Debian 13, along with a domain and an email delivery service. The documentation lists software dependencies but does not give one CPU, memory, or disk floor that fits all instance sizes.
Its [scaling guide] describes scaling across app servers, background workers, Redis backends, and PostgreSQL replicas. That makes Mastodon’s AWS footprint a function of traffic and service design rather than a single machine-size lookup. The guide also calls for health checks on backend web and streaming endpoints and for administrators to review content-retention settings to control stored-media growth.
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Object storage is optional: files can remain on the host disk, while the [configuration guide] names Amazon S3 among storage choices. If using AWS S3, the bucket must support ACLs; the guide says to configure S3 Object Ownership with ACLs enabled. Validate that requirement against the app’s configuration rather than assuming a default bucket setup will work.
Discourse: Docker is the supported install path
Discourse’s [install documentation] requires SSH access to a 64-bit Linux server with Docker support. Its [cloud guide] names EC2 and describes automatic TLS provisioning in its setup flow. That documents a viable route, but does not determine the right EC2 family, availability design, or security-group configuration for your workload.
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Chatwoot: include its backing services in the plan
Chatwoot’s [self-hosted guide] calls for PostgreSQL, Redis, and a reverse proxy alongside the application. It recommends a domain, SSL certificate, and SMTP service; object storage such as S3 is optional. Its listed deployment routes include EC2 and ECS, but the guide does not map them to particular AWS services, IAM policies, or a ready-made network template.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What security risks should AWS operators address?
Limit exposed ports and harden administration
Expose only the application’s real public endpoints; avoid making databases, caches, administration interfaces, or container-management ports publicly reachable. Chatwoot’s security checklist says to expose only necessary ports. Mastodon’s [machine-preparation walkthrough] gives an example inbound policy allowing SSH, HTTP, and HTTPS, with HTTP/3 discussed as optional. Treat that as an example, not a universal AWS security-group template.
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The same Mastodon walkthrough recommends key-only SSH, system package updates, and fail2ban. Apply a current host-hardening policy to every server, including those running Docker; Docker alone does not secure the host.
Use HTTPS and configure proxy trust deliberately
Chatwoot calls for HTTPS in production, while Discourse’s cloud setup flow describes automatic TLS provisioning. HTTPS protects browser-to-service traffic, but a reverse proxy also affects what client information an application receives.
Mastodon’s [configuration guide] warns that trusted-proxy settings affect the source IP Mastodon sees, which is used for rate limits and security functions. Misplaced trust can undermine IP-based controls or logging assumptions. Configure proxy trust for the actual network path; do not treat proxy headers as trustworthy merely because a request passed through a proxy.
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Protect databases, object storage, and backups
Chatwoot advises strong PostgreSQL passwords and encrypted sensitive backups. Restrict who and what can access databases and backup copies, and test restores as part of recovery planning. The cited guide does not prescribe an AWS backup product or retention schedule, so choose those based on recovery objectives and access requirements.
For Mastodon on S3, check the documented ACL requirement and Object Ownership setting, then validate bucket access, public-access expectations, credentials, lifecycle, and backup behavior against the application’s configuration. A storage misconfiguration can expose media or break uploads.
Account for application-specific security and data growth
Mastodon has a secure-mode behavior involving public ActivityPub representations and HTTP signatures. Its [security specification] describes signature validation and compatibility considerations. Because the behavior can affect interoperability, assess the documented trade-off before enabling it rather than treating it as a universally appropriate toggle.
Capacity and storage are security-adjacent operational concerns: an overloaded service, exhausted disk, or failed background queue can impair availability. Mastodon’s scaling documentation covers multiple service roles and its configuration includes content-retention settings; estimate activity, federation, and attachment volume rather than assuming a starter host will remain adequate.
Own the maintenance and incident workload
Self-hosting makes the operator responsible for application and operating-system updates, access control, monitoring, backups, and incident response. Chatwoot’s [account guide] distinguishes managed Cloud, where Chatwoot manages updates, from self-hosted operation, where customers handle updates. Managed hosting can shift some infrastructure work, but policy, configuration, user access, and data decisions still need review.
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- Choose by product purpose: federation and public-instance moderation point to Mastodon; threaded community discussion points to Discourse; customer conversations and support workflows point to Chatwoot.
- Size for realistic demand: use publisher baselines as a starting point, then account for users, plugins or integrations, uploads, email, federation, background work, availability needs, and recovery objectives.
- Map the full service, not only the app process: account for databases, caches, reverse proxies, email, storage, backups, and monitoring where the platform requires or recommends them.
- Check control requirements: data residency or a need for direct infrastructure control can motivate self-hosting, but control also means owning upgrades, security configuration, and recovery.
- Compare managed options if server operations are not a priority: Mastodon lists dedicated hosting providers, Discourse offers official hosting, and Chatwoot documents Cloud. Verify current plan scope, data location, backups, security terms, and migration paths with the provider before choosing.
There is no defensible “cheapest platform” answer from these requirements alone. AWS region, current prices, storage volume, architecture, and availability targets all change the cost comparison.
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