XenForo

Best Self Hosted Alternatives to XenForo

A curated collection of the 4 best self hosted alternatives to XenForo.

XenForo is commercial forum software for building and managing online communities. It provides discussion boards, user and moderation tools, extensibility via add-ons and themes, plus SEO and analytics features.

Alternatives List

#1
Discourse

Discourse

Open source forum software with real-time discussions, powerful moderation, SSO, and integrations—built for long-lived, searchable community knowledge.

Discourse screenshot

Discourse is an open source discussion platform for building community forums that feel real-time like chat but retain the structure and long-term value of threaded discussions. It is designed to be searchable, mobile-friendly, and highly moderatable, with extensive customization and integration options.

Key Features

  • Trust levels, flagging, review queue, and granular moderation tools
  • Rich post composer with Markdown support, quoting, mentions, and uploads
  • Categories, tags, and full-text search for organizing and discovering content
  • Real-time updates (live topics/notifications) plus email-in/out style participation
  • Single Sign-On and multiple authentication providers via built-in support/plugins
  • Admin console for site settings, user management, and analytics dashboards
  • Extensible plugin/theme system (Theme Components) for UI and behavior changes
  • API and webhooks for automation and external integrations

Use Cases

  • Product/company community forums with announcements, Q&A, and support deflection
  • Open source project discussion hub replacing mailing lists and fragmented threads
  • Private team/customer portals for structured discussions and knowledge capture

Limitations and Considerations

  • Heavier operational footprint than simple PHP forums (requires Redis and PostgreSQL)
  • Many advanced capabilities depend on correct email deliverability and configuration

Discourse is well-suited for communities that need durable, searchable conversations with strong moderation and governance. Its extensibility, integrations, and modern UX make it a common replacement for legacy forums and mailing-list-based support channels.

46kstars
8.8kforks
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#2
Flarum

Flarum

Self-hosted, extensible forum platform with a modern UI, rich text editor, notifications, and a robust extension system.

Flarum screenshot

Flarum is a modern, PHP-based discussion forum platform designed to be fast, simple to run, and easy to extend. It provides a clean single-page interface for end users and a modular architecture for admins to customize functionality via extensions.

Key Features

  • Single-page application (SPA) forum UI with fast navigation and real-time-feeling interactions
  • Extension system for adding features (SSO, integrations, custom content, moderation tools, theming)
  • Built-in notifications and user mentions for community engagement
  • Role- and permission-based access control for categories/tags and moderation actions
  • Tag-based organization (in core) to structure discussions beyond classic subforums
  • Responsive design optimized for desktop and mobile browsers
  • REST API for integrations and custom frontends
  • Admin dashboard for managing extensions, appearance, permissions, and settings

Use Cases

  • Support and feedback communities for products/projects
  • Private team or organization discussion space with granular permissions
  • Public hobby or interest forums with customizable features and theming

Limitations and Considerations

  • Many advanced capabilities (e.g., richer moderation workflows, SSO providers, deep analytics) typically require installing third-party extensions
  • Major version upgrades may require extension compatibility updates, so extension-heavy installs should plan upgrade windows

Flarum is well-suited for communities that want a modern forum experience with a flexible extension ecosystem. Its core remains lightweight while enabling sophisticated setups through add-ons and API-driven integrations.

16.2kstars
1.7kforks
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#3
NodeBB

NodeBB

Real-time Node.js forum platform with plugins, themes, SSO, moderation tools, and integrations for building scalable community discussion boards.

NodeBB screenshot

NodeBB is a modern forum and community platform focused on fast, real-time discussions and extensibility. It provides a web-based discussion board with rich moderation, user management, and integration options, designed to scale from small communities to large deployments.

Key Features

  • Real-time updates for topics, posts, notifications, and chat (WebSocket-based)
  • Extensible plugin system for adding auth providers, integrations, and custom features
  • Theme system for customizing UI/branding and layouts
  • Built-in moderation tools (flags, user moderation controls, permissions)
  • Social features such as mentions, notifications, reactions, and user profiles
  • Built-in chat/messaging for community members
  • Multiple database backends supported (commonly Redis or MongoDB)
  • REST API and admin UI for configuration and management

Use Cases

  • Hosting a product/community support forum with roles, categories, and moderation
  • Migrating from legacy forums to a modern, mobile-friendly discussion platform
  • Building a branded community hub with SSO and plugin-based integrations

Limitations and Considerations

  • Requires an external database service (Redis or MongoDB) and operational tuning for larger installs
  • Many advanced capabilities depend on selecting and maintaining the right plugins/themes

NodeBB fits organizations that want a performant, modern forum with real-time interaction and a strong extension model. With its admin tooling, theming, and plugin ecosystem, it can be tailored to a wide range of community and support scenarios while remaining scalable.

14.9kstars
2.9kforks
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#4
Lemmy

Lemmy

Self-hosted, ActivityPub-based forum platform for communities, link posts, and threaded discussions with federation across the Fediverse.

Lemmy screenshot

Lemmy is a community discussion and link aggregation platform similar to Reddit, designed for running topic-based communities with posts, comments, and moderation tools. It supports federation via ActivityPub, allowing separate Lemmy servers (and other Fediverse platforms) to interact while remaining independently managed.

Key Features

  • ActivityPub federation between instances, including cross-instance communities and users
  • Reddit-style content model: communities, posts (links/text), threaded comments, voting, sorting, and feeds
  • Moderation tooling: community moderators, admin controls, reporting, bans, and content removal
  • User and community management including roles/permissions and instance policies
  • Multiple clients/frontends via API ecosystem (official and third-party web/mobile apps)
  • Media handling via URL/link posts and integrations commonly deployed with reverse proxies and object storage

Use Cases

  • Host a private or public community forum with familiar upvote/downvote dynamics
  • Create a federated network of communities across multiple organizations or groups
  • Replace centralized community platforms while keeping local control over policies and moderation

Limitations and Considerations

  • Federation can introduce moderation complexity (remote content, defederation decisions, instance-level policies)
  • Operationally requires a database and supporting services; upgrades should follow release notes to avoid breaking changes

Lemmy is well-suited for communities that want a modern discussion experience with federation and local autonomy. Its ActivityPub support and active ecosystem make it a practical choice for building interconnected forums without relying on a single centralized provider.

14.2kstars
937forks
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Why choose an open source alternative?

  • •Data ownership: Keep your data on your own servers
  • •No vendor lock-in: Freedom to switch or modify at any time
  • •Cost savings: Reduce or eliminate subscription fees
  • •Transparency: Audit the code and know exactly what's running