6 self-hosted options
Open-source alternatives to Reddit
The best open-source alternative to Reddit is Discourse (GPL-2.0, 48,012 GitHub stars, Docker image). Flarum stands out for a permissive MIT license, and Answer stands out for a permissive Apache-2.0 license.
About Reddit: A network of topic communities with voting and threaded discussion.
Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed daily
Top picks
- Rank 1:
Discourse
discourse/discourse
Advanced forum / community solution based on Ruby and JS.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Social & ForumsRubyDockerStands out for the most GitHub stars.
- Rank 2:
Flarum
flarum/flarum
Delightfully simple forums. Flarum is the next-generation forum software that makes online discussion fun again.
Active · last commit Oct 9, 2026
Social & ForumsPHPStands out for a permissive MIT license.
- Rank 3:
Answer
apache/answer
Knowledge-based community software. You can use it to quickly build your Q&A community for product technical support, customer support, user communication, and more.
Active · last commit Oct 21, 2026
Social & ForumsGoDockerStands out for a permissive Apache-2.0 license.
At a glance
Reddit alternatives compared
Open-source apps come first, then source-available ones and apps whose license appsgit could not verify; within each group, projects with at least 12 commits in the last 12 months come before less active or archived ones, then by GitHub stars.
| App | Stands out for | License | GitHub stars | Commits (12 mo) | Last commit | Docker image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discourse | the most GitHub stars | GPL-2.0 | 48,012 | 7,452 | Oct 26, 2026 | Yes |
| Flarum | a permissive MIT license | MIT | 16,431 | 15 | Oct 9, 2026 | No |
| Answer | a permissive Apache-2.0 license | Apache-2.0 | 15,700 | 282 | Oct 21, 2026 | Yes |
| NodeBB | its JavaScript codebase | GPL-3.0 | 15,243 | 3,424 | Oct 25, 2026 | Yes |
| Lemmy | its Rust codebase | AGPL-3.0 | 14,647 | 332 | Oct 23, 2026 | Yes |
| Misago | – | GPL-2.0 | 2,780 | 105 | Oct 24, 2026 | Yes |
Full list
All 6 Reddit alternatives
Open any app for live stats, license details and a deploy option.
- 1
Discourse
Advanced forum / community solution based on Ruby and JS.
Social & ForumsDockerStands out for the most GitHub stars. Discourse has 48,012 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 7,452 commits in the last year.
- 2
Flarum
Delightfully simple forums. Flarum is the next-generation forum software that makes online discussion fun again.
Social & ForumsStands out for a permissive MIT license. Flarum has 16,431 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 15 commits in the last year.
- 3
Answer
Knowledge-based community software. You can use it to quickly build your Q&A community for product technical support, customer support, user communication, and more.
Social & ForumsDockerStands out for a permissive Apache-2.0 license. Answer has 15,700 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 282 commits in the last year.
- 4
NodeBB
Forum software built for the modern web.
Social & ForumsDockerStands out for its JavaScript codebase. NodeBB has 15,243 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 3,424 commits in the last year.
- 5
Lemmy
Link aggregator for the fediverse (alternative to Reddit).
Social & ForumsDockerStands out for its Rust codebase. Lemmy has 14,647 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 332 commits in the last year.
- 6
Misago
Fully featured modern forum application that is fast, scalable and responsive.
Social & ForumsDockerMisago has 2,780 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 105 commits in the last year.
Is there a free alternative to Reddit?
Yes. All 6 apps on this page are open source and free to self-host, so you can replace Reddit without per-user fees. You pay only for the server.
Can I self-host an alternative to Reddit with Docker?
Yes. 5 of the 6 apps here publish a Docker image, including Discourse, Answer and NodeBB, so you can run them on a home server or VPS with Docker Compose.
Which Reddit alternative is the most actively developed?
Discourse (GPL-2.0), with 7,452 commits in the last 12 months. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.
How is this list ranked?
Open-source apps come first, then source-available ones and apps whose license appsgit could not verify; within each group, projects with at least 12 commits in the last 12 months come before less active or archived ones, then by GitHub stars.