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.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Social & ForumsRubyDockerDiscourse
discourse/discourse
Advanced forum / community solution based on Ruby and JS.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Social & ForumsRubyDockerFlarum
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 & 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.
Active · last commit Oct 21, 2026
Social & ForumsGoDockerNodeBB
NodeBB/NodeBB
Forum software built for the modern web.
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
Social & ForumsJavaScriptDockerLemmy
LemmyNet/lemmy
Link aggregator for the fediverse (alternative to Reddit).
Active · last commit Oct 23, 2026
Social & ForumsRustDockerdiaspora*
diaspora/diaspora
Distributed social networking server.
Active · last commit Jul 28, 2026
Social & ForumsRubyMisskey
misskey-dev/misskey
Decentralized app-like microblogging server/SNS for the Fediverse, using the ActivityPub protocol like GNU social and Mastodon.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Social & ForumsTypeScriptDockerPixelFed
pixelfed/pixelfed
Ethical photo sharing platform, powered by ActivityPub federation (alternative to Instagram).
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
Social & ForumsPHPHumHub
humhub/humhub
Flexible kit for private social networks.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
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.
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
Social & ForumsGoDockerIsso
isso-comments/isso
Lightweight commenting server written in Python and Javascript. It aims to be a drop-in replacement for Disqus.
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
Social & ForumsPythonDockerRedlib
redlib-org/redlib
An alternative private front-end to Reddit, with its origins in Libreddit.
Active · last commit Oct 22, 2026
Social & ForumsRustMisago
rafalp/Misago
Fully featured modern forum application that is fast, scalable and responsive.
Active · last commit Oct 24, 2026
Social & ForumsPythonDockerLoomio
loomio/loomio
Collaborative decision-making tool that makes it easy for anyone to participate in decisions which affect them.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Social & ForumsRubyDockerArtalk
ArtalkJS/Artalk
Comment system built in Golang, providing a lightweight and highly customizable solution for adding comments to your website.
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
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.
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
Social & ForumsPHPMovim
movim/movim
Modern, federated social network based on XMPP, with a fully featured group-chat, subscriptions and microblogging.
Active · last commit Oct 24, 2026
Social & ForumsPHPDockerCoral
coralproject/talk
A better commenting experience from Vox Media.
Active · last commit Sep 4, 2026
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).
Maintained · last commit Jul 13, 2026
Social & ForumsTypeScriptDockerFriendica
friendica/friendica
Social Communication Server.
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
Social & ForumsPHPElgg
Elgg/Elgg
Powerful open source social networking engine.
Active · last commit Oct 21, 2026
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.
Active · last commit Oct 18, 2026
Social & ForumsPHPMyBB
mybb/mybb
Free, extensible forum software package.
Active · last commit Oct 23, 2026
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.
Active · last commit Sep 29, 2026
Social & ForumsJavaDockerSimple Machines Forum
SimpleMachines/SMF
Free, professional grade software package that allows you to set up your own online community within minutes.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
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.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Social & ForumsJavaScriptDockerqpixel
codidact/qpixel
Q&A-based community knowledge-sharing software.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Social & ForumsRubySocialhome
jaywink/socialhome
Federated and decentralized profile builder and social network engine.
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
Social & ForumsPythonDockerHatsu
importantimport/hatsu
Bridge that interacts with Fediverse on behalf of your static site.
Active · last commit Oct 1, 2026
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.
Active · last commit Oct 23, 2026
Social & ForumsPHPHabitat
carlnewton/habitat
A Platform for Local Communities.
Active · last commit Oct 21, 2026
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 50,452 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 (7,452 commits), PixelFed (4,288 commits) and NodeBB (3,424 commits). Active development usually means faster bug fixes and security patches.