Free community projects

There are quite a few free, open-source community forum projects you can install and run yourself. The best choice depends on whether you want a traditional message board, a modern discussion community, a Reddit-like platform, or a forum integrated into an existing website.

If by “free” you mean no software license fees, the options below are good starting points. Keep in mind that self-hosting can still involve server, domain, email, and maintenance costs.forumcat.com+1

Best free community forum projects

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1. Discourse

(Best all-rounder)

A modern, full-featured discussion platform with topic-based conversations, notifications, moderation tools, and chat. Good for large public communities and long-running discussions.

Stack: Ruby on Rails, PostgreSQL, Redis. More involved to administer.

Official website · Source code ·Installation guide