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Discourse review: a free forum you host yourself

discourse.org

Discourse is free GPL forum software that installs with Docker on a server you control, with 2 GB of RAM recommended. Its developer also sells hosting from $100 a month.

Open sourceFree to self-hostDocker installInvite-only forumsBuilt-in chat

Our verdict on Discourse

Discourse suits an adult webmaster who already rents a VPS and wants a modern community with chat and private categories, at no license cost.

Discourse home page, the open source forum platform, with its get started button
Discourse

Discourse ID and the email setup step

If you skip SMTP during setup, the installer switches on login via Discourse ID automatically. Members then sign up with the developer, by email or with Google, Facebook, Apple or GitHub. The setting is off by default, so have SMTP credentials ready and enter them when the installer asks.

Installing Discourse on your own server

Discourse runs on Ruby and PostgreSQL inside Docker on 64-bit Linux, so shared hosting will not do. The official guide asks for at least 1 GB of RAM with swap, one core and 10 GB of disk, and recommends 2 GB, two cores and 20 GB on Ubuntu LTS. One command on a fresh Ubuntu or Debian server starts the installer, the build takes five to ten minutes, and Let’s Encrypt certificates are set up automatically. A free discourse.diy subdomain is offered for testing.

Discourse official hosting

The developer sells four hosted plans in US dollars, with no credit card required up front.

PlanPrice per monthLimits
Free$02 staff seats, 10 categories, 5 GB
Pro$1005 staff seats, 20 GB, custom domain
Business$50015 staff seats, 100 GB
EnterpriseCustom200 GB and up

Paid plans can be ended by the developer with three full months of notice.

Locking down an adult forum on Discourse

Discourse’s core settings are enough to keep a forum adults-only. Login required closes everything to visitors and search engines. Must approve users holds each new account for review, and invite only removes open sign-up. DiscourseConnect hands login to your own site, where you can put an age check. Flagged media from new accounts is blurred by default.

Strengths and limits of Discourse

Strengths

  • Free software under the GPL.
  • A one-command install.
  • Chat and private categories built in.
  • A private forum with no plugins.

Limitations

  • A full server with Docker required.
  • Discourse ID, switched on if you skip email, bans obscene content on every site that uses it.
  • A Free plan the developer can close over automated moderation flags.
  • Paid plans that exclude content harming the developer’s reputation.
  • Ruby and PostgreSQL to troubleshoot yourself.

Discourse vs MyBB

MyBB is written in PHP and runs on entry-level shared hosting, which suits an adult forum starting without its own server. Discourse needs a VPS but gives you chat, private categories and a guided install in the free software. With your own server, pick Discourse. Without one, pick MyBB.

Flarum

Flarum is free forum software under the MIT license that installs on shared hosting by unpacking an archive.

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Read the review Lemmy →MyBB

MyBB is free forum software under LGPL-3.0, a 2.22 MB download that runs on the most basic shared hosting.

Read the review MyBB →XenForo

XenForo sells a forum license for $195 before tax per installation, with twelve months of support and updates. Security fixes after that cost $60 a year.

Read the review XenForo →
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