32 open-source apps
Best self-hosted Social & Forums apps
Ranked by GitHub stars
All 32 Social & Forums apps
Mastodon
mastodon/mastodon
Federated microblogging server.
Social & ForumsRubyDockerDiscourse
discourse/discourse
Advanced forum / community solution based on Ruby and JS.
Social & ForumsRubyDockerFlarum
flarum/flarum
Delightfully simple forums. Flarum is the next-generation forum software that makes online discussion fun again.
Social & ForumsPHPAnswer
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.
Social & ForumsGoDockerNodeBB
NodeBB/NodeBB
Forum software built for the modern web.
Social & ForumsJavaScriptDockerLemmy
LemmyNet/lemmy
Link aggregator for the fediverse (alternative to Reddit).
Social & ForumsRustDockerdiaspora*
diaspora/diaspora
Distributed social networking server.
Social & ForumsRubyMisskey
misskey-dev/misskey
Decentralized app-like microblogging server/SNS for the Fediverse, using the ActivityPub protocol like GNU social and Mastodon.
Social & ForumsTypeScriptDockerPixelFed
pixelfed/pixelfed
Ethical photo sharing platform, powered by ActivityPub federation (alternative to Instagram).
Social & ForumsPHPHumHub
humhub/humhub
Flexible kit for private social networks.
Social & ForumsPHPremark42
umputun/remark42
Lightweight and simple comment engine, which doesn't spy on users. It can be embedded into blogs, articles or any other place where readers add comments.
Social & ForumsGoDockerIsso
isso-comments/isso
Lightweight commenting server written in Python and Javascript. It aims to be a drop-in replacement for Disqus.
Social & ForumsPythonDockerRedlib
redlib-org/redlib
An alternative private front-end to Reddit, with its origins in Libreddit.
Social & ForumsRustMisago
rafalp/Misago
Fully featured modern forum application that is fast, scalable and responsive.
Social & ForumsPythonDockerLoomio
loomio/loomio
Collaborative decision-making tool that makes it easy for anyone to participate in decisions which affect them.
Social & ForumsRubyDockerArtalk
ArtalkJS/Artalk
Comment system built in Golang, providing a lightweight and highly customizable solution for adding comments to your website.
Social & ForumsGoDockerphpBB
phpbb/phpbb
Flat-forum bulletin board software solution that can be used to stay in touch with a group of people or can power your entire website.
Social & ForumsPHPMovim
movim/movim
Modern, federated social network based on XMPP, with a fully featured group-chat, subscriptions and microblogging.
Social & ForumsPHPDockerCoral
coralproject/talk
A better commenting experience from Vox Media.
Social & ForumsTypeScriptDockerTalkyard
debiki/talkyard
Create a community, where your users can suggest ideas and get questions answered. And have friendly open-ended discussions and chat (Slack/StackOverflow/Discourse/Reddit/Disqus hybrid).
Social & ForumsTypeScriptDockerFriendica
friendica/friendica
Social Communication Server.
Social & ForumsPHPElgg
Elgg/Elgg
Powerful open source social networking engine.
Social & ForumsPHPOSSN
opensource-socialnetwork/opensource-socialnetwork
Social networking software that allows you to make a social networking website and helps your members build social relationships, with people who share similar professional or personal interests.
Social & ForumsPHPMyBB
mybb/mybb
Free, extensible forum software package.
Social & ForumsPHPScoold
Erudika/scoold
Stack Overflow in a JAR. An enterprise-ready Q&A platform with full-text search, SAML, LDAP integration and social login support.
Social & ForumsJavaDockerSimple Machines Forum
SimpleMachines/SMF
Free, professional grade software package that allows you to set up your own online community within minutes.
Social & ForumsPHPEnigma 1/2 BBS
NuSkooler/enigma-bbs
Enigma 1/2 is a modern, multi-platform BBS engine with unlimited "callers" and legacy DOS door game support.
Social & ForumsJavaScriptDockerqpixel
codidact/qpixel
Q&A-based community knowledge-sharing software.
Social & ForumsRubySocialhome
jaywink/socialhome
Federated and decentralized profile builder and social network engine.
Social & ForumsPythonDockerHatsu
importantimport/hatsu
Bridge that interacts with Fediverse on behalf of your static site.
Social & ForumsRustDockerBuddyPress
buddypress/buddypress
Powerful plugin that takes your WordPress.org powered site beyond the blog with social-network features like user profiles, activity streams, user groups, and more.
Social & ForumsPHPHabitat
carlnewton/habitat
A Platform for Local Communities.
Social & ForumsPHPDocker
What is the best self-hosted app for social & forums?
By GitHub stars, Mastodon is the most popular self-hosted app for social & forums with 50,353 stars, followed by Discourse and Flarum. The best fit depends on your needs, so compare Docker support, license and recent activity on each app page.
Are these Social & Forums apps free?
Yes. All 32 apps in this category are open source and free to run on your own server. A few also offer a paid hosted plan or enterprise add-ons, but self-hosting the open-source edition costs nothing beyond your hardware.
How do I install a self-hosted Social & Forums app?
19 of the 32 apps here ship a Docker image, which is the easiest route: rent a small VPS or use a home server, install Docker, and start the app with its Docker Compose file. Apps without an image list their native install steps in the README.
Which Social & Forums apps are most actively developed?
Measured by commits in the last twelve months, the most active projects are Discourse (6,794 commits), PixelFed (3,651 commits) and NodeBB (3,349 commits). Active development usually means faster bug fixes and security patches.