# Best self-hosted Social & Forums apps

> Forum software, federated social networks and community platforms. Build a discussion board or join the fediverse on your own server. The most popular self-hosted social & forums apps on GitHub are Mastodon, Discourse and Flarum. appsgit lists 32 self-hosted apps in this category, ranked by GitHub stars. All 32 apps here are open source.

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Apps listed | 32 |
| Most starred | Mastodon (50,353 stars) |
| With a Docker image | 19 |
| Canonical URL | https://appsgit.com/categories/social-forums |

## All 32 Social & Forums apps

- [Mastodon](https://appsgit.com/apps/mastodon): Federated microblogging server. (50,353 stars, AGPL-3.0, Ruby, Docker)
- [Discourse](https://appsgit.com/apps/discourse): Advanced forum / community solution based on Ruby and JS. (47,933 stars, GPL-2.0, Ruby, Docker)
- [Flarum](https://appsgit.com/apps/flarum): Delightfully simple forums. Flarum is the next-generation forum software that makes online discussion fun again. (16,411 stars, MIT, PHP)
- [Answer](https://appsgit.com/apps/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. (15,691 stars, Apache-2.0, Go, Docker)
- [NodeBB](https://appsgit.com/apps/nodebb): Forum software built for the modern web. (15,231 stars, GPL-3.0, JavaScript, Docker)
- [Lemmy](https://appsgit.com/apps/lemmy): Link aggregator for the fediverse (alternative to Reddit). (14,615 stars, AGPL-3.0, Rust, Docker)
- [diaspora*](https://appsgit.com/apps/diaspora): Distributed social networking server. (13,645 stars, AGPL-3.0, Ruby)
- [Misskey](https://appsgit.com/apps/misskey): Decentralized app-like microblogging server/SNS for the Fediverse, using the ActivityPub protocol like GNU social and Mastodon. (11,336 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker)
- [PixelFed](https://appsgit.com/apps/pixelfed): Ethical photo sharing platform, powered by ActivityPub federation (alternative to Instagram). (7,119 stars, AGPL-3.0, PHP)
- [HumHub](https://appsgit.com/apps/humhub): Flexible kit for private social networks. (6,752 stars, AGPL-3.0, PHP)
- [remark42](https://appsgit.com/apps/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. (5,621 stars, MIT, Go, Docker)
- [Isso](https://appsgit.com/apps/isso): Lightweight commenting server written in Python and Javascript. It aims to be a drop-in replacement for Disqus. (5,310 stars, MIT, Python, Docker)
- [Redlib](https://appsgit.com/apps/redlib): An alternative private front-end to Reddit, with its origins in Libreddit. (3,828 stars, AGPL-3.0, Rust)
- [Misago](https://appsgit.com/apps/misago): Fully featured modern forum application that is fast, scalable and responsive. (2,781 stars, GPL-2.0, Python, Docker)
- [Loomio](https://appsgit.com/apps/loomio): Collaborative decision-making tool that makes it easy for anyone to participate in decisions which affect them. (2,612 stars, AGPL-3.0, Ruby, Docker)
- [Artalk](https://appsgit.com/apps/artalk): Comment system built in Golang, providing a lightweight and highly customizable solution for adding comments to your website. (2,344 stars, MIT, Go, Docker)
- [phpBB](https://appsgit.com/apps/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. (2,099 stars, GPL-2.0, PHP)
- [Movim](https://appsgit.com/apps/movim): Modern, federated social network based on XMPP, with a fully featured group-chat, subscriptions and microblogging. (2,060 stars, AGPL-3.0, PHP, Docker)
- [Coral](https://appsgit.com/apps/coral): A better commenting experience from Vox Media. (1,999 stars, Apache-2.0, TypeScript, Docker)
- [Talkyard](https://appsgit.com/apps/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). (1,813 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker)
- [Friendica](https://appsgit.com/apps/friendica): Social Communication Server. (1,691 stars, AGPL-3.0, PHP)
- [Elgg](https://appsgit.com/apps/elgg): Powerful open source social networking engine. (1,678 stars, GPL-2.0, PHP)
- [OSSN](https://appsgit.com/apps/ossn): 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. (1,245 stars, CAL-1.0, PHP)
- [MyBB](https://appsgit.com/apps/mybb): Free, extensible forum software package. (1,242 stars, LGPL-3.0, PHP)
- [Scoold](https://appsgit.com/apps/scoold): Stack Overflow in a JAR. An enterprise-ready Q&A platform with full-text search, SAML, LDAP integration and social login support. (922 stars, Apache-2.0, Java, Docker)
- [Simple Machines Forum](https://appsgit.com/apps/simple-machines-forum): Free, professional grade software package that allows you to set up your own online community within minutes. (750 stars, BSD-3-Clause, PHP)
- [Enigma 1/2 BBS](https://appsgit.com/apps/enigma-12-bbs): Enigma 1/2 is a modern, multi-platform BBS engine with unlimited "callers" and legacy DOS door game support. (667 stars, BSD-2-Clause, JavaScript, Docker)
- [qpixel](https://appsgit.com/apps/qpixel): Q&A-based community knowledge-sharing software. (442 stars, AGPL-3.0, Ruby)
- [Socialhome](https://appsgit.com/apps/socialhome): Federated and decentralized profile builder and social network engine. (381 stars, AGPL-3.0, Python, Docker)
- [Hatsu](https://appsgit.com/apps/hatsu): Bridge that interacts with Fediverse on behalf of your static site. (260 stars, AGPL-3.0, Rust, Docker)
- [BuddyPress](https://appsgit.com/apps/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. (256 stars, GPL-2.0, PHP)
- [Habitat](https://appsgit.com/apps/habitat): A Platform for Local Communities. (150 stars, AGPL-3.0, PHP, Docker)

## Replaces

- [Open-source alternatives to Twitter / X](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/twitter)
- [Open-source alternatives to Reddit](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/reddit)

## Related categories

- [Utilities](https://appsgit.com/categories/utilities): Handy standalone tools that do not fit elsewhere, such as converters, translators and design apps. Small utilities worth self-hosting.
- [Finance & Budgeting](https://appsgit.com/categories/finance-budgeting): Personal finance, budgeting, expense tracking and payment tools. Manage your money without handing your data to a fintech app.
- [CMS](https://appsgit.com/categories/cms): Content management systems and headless CMS platforms for websites and apps. Publish and manage content on a stack you control.
- [Team Chat](https://appsgit.com/categories/team-chat): Self-hosted messaging, team chat and push notification platforms. A private alternative to Slack, Discord and hosted messengers.
- [File Sharing](https://appsgit.com/categories/file-sharing): Quick file upload and sharing services plus peer-to-peer clients. Send large files with expiring links, like a private WeTransfer.
- [Analytics](https://appsgit.com/categories/analytics): Self-hosted web analytics and business intelligence tools. Track visitors and product usage or explore your data without sending it to a third party.

---

Canonical page: https://appsgit.com/categories/social-forums
Source: appsgit (https://appsgit.com), the app store for github. Data from the GitHub API, refreshed nightly.
Machine access: JSON API https://appsgit.com/api/v1/apps (OpenAPI: https://appsgit.com/openapi.json), MCP server https://mcp.appsgit.com/mcp, full index https://appsgit.com/llms-full.txt.