Is Flarum free?
Answer
Yes. Flarum is free and open source, and so are NodeBB and Lemmy. Flarum pricing only starts to exist when you add a server, or pay someone for managed Flarum hosting.
Compare
Free to download.
Someone still runs the server.
Flarum, NodeBB, Lemmy and Discourse are all free and open source. Each one asks you to host it, patch it, and be there when it falls over. This page compares them on that, plainly, and shows what the hosted route costs instead.
Looking for a Reddit alternative? Lemmy is the closest fit and it is on this page. A support forum for your own customers is a different job, and we cover that too.
Free for 7 days. No credit card. Live in about five minutes.
4open source forums compared, honestly
0servers to run if you pick us
$9one time for a working portal
5 minfrom sign-up to a live portal
If you came here for a Reddit alternative
Lemmy and a support forum are different jobs
Lemmy is a federated link aggregator. People post links and discussion into communities. Servers talk to each other, so it feels like Reddit run by many hands. If that is what you want, Lemmy is the honest answer and you should read its docs next.
A support forum is the other job. One company, one brand, customers asking about your product, and staff answering in public so the next customer finds it. That is what Forumcat does, and it is why the table below has a column for us.
The rest of this page treats all four open source options fairly, then puts the hosted option beside them.
The four
What each one is really for
All four are free and open source. You download them and you host them. That is the shared shape. The differences are who each one is built for, and how much of your week it asks for.
- 1
Flarum
- Best for
- Small and mid-size forums that want something light and modern, run by someone comfortable with a server.
- Price
- Free and open source. Flarum is free; hosting it is not. You pay for the server, and third parties sell managed Flarum hosting at their own prices. Check their sites for current numbers.
- Does well
- Light, fast, and pleasant to read on a phone. The extension system lets you add only what you want, which keeps it feeling small.
- Worth weighing
- The server, the database, the mail sending, the SSL certificate and the upgrades are all yours. Extensions have to keep pace with core releases.
- 2
NodeBB
- Best for
- Teams who are happy with Node.js and want a modern forum they can shape in detail.
- Price
- Free and open source to self-host. NodeBB also sells managed hosting, so NodeBB pricing depends on whether you run it or they do. Check their pricing page for the current plans.
- Does well
- Mature, actively built, with plugins, themes, and an admin panel that gives you a lot of control.
- Worth weighing
- You keep Node and a database running, and you handle upgrades. Managed NodeBB hosting removes that work, and adds a monthly bill.
- 3
Lemmy
- Best for
- People building a public, federated community in the fediverse, in the shape of a link and discussion site.
- Price
- Free and open source. You host it, so the cost is your server and your time.
- Does well
- Federation is the point. Communities on different servers can read each other, and no single company owns the network.
- Worth weighing
- It is built for public community discussion, not for one company answering its own customers. You run the server, and you moderate a feed that reaches beyond your own site.
- 4
Discourse
- Best for
- Large public communities that want every feature, and a team willing to run or pay for the infrastructure.
- Price
- Free and open source to self-host. Their cloud hosting is quoted publicly at "$50 per month" for the small license. A "Standard Plan at $100 per month" is quoted too, as of Jul 2026.
- Does well
- A large plugin ecosystem, and many large communities run on it. It is serious software.
- Worth weighing
- Self-hosting means Docker and a machine of its own. A Discourse hosting company describes the software as "quite hard to install and self-host".
What people say
What self-hosting sounds like a year in
Only Discourse has a public complaint record big enough to quote from, so all three quotes below are about Discourse. Read them as what running your own forum can feel like, not as a verdict on Flarum, NodeBB or Lemmy.
The Discourse forum software is fantastic, but quite hard to install and self-host.
you need to run a separate VM to run something as simple as forum software
auto-updates would occasionally break, so it was work to maintain
Side by side
Who does the work, and what it costs
The first four rows are the ones that decide it. They describe what any self-hosted forum asks of you, whichever of the four you pick.
| Flarum | NodeBB | Lemmy | Discourse | Forumcat | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who runs the server | You | You, or their hosting | You | You, or their cloud | We do |
| Updates | You | You, or their hosting | You | You, or their cloud | We ship them |
| SSL certificate | You set it up | You set it up | You set it up | You set it up | Automatic |
| Backups | Yours to run | Yours to run | Yours to run | Yours to run | Part of the hosting |
| Price shape | Free, you pay for hosting | Free to self-host, or paid hosting | Free, you pay for hosting | Free to self-host. Cloud quoted from $50 a month | $9 one time, or $99 a month |
| Custom domain | Yes, you point it | Yes, you point it | Yes, you point it | Yes, you point it | Yes on Pro, SSL included |
| API | Check their docs | Check their docs | Check their docs | Yes | REST and MCP on every plan |
Discourse cloud prices come from a public discussion of their plans, as of Jul 2026. The quoted numbers are "$50 per month" and "Standard Plan at $100 per month". The other three are free to download, so their real cost is your server and your hours. Rows marked "check their docs" are things we did not want to state on anyone else's behalf.
The hosted route
Setup, in full
There is no install step to describe. You sign in, type a name, and pick an address. The portal is live while you are still reading the page.
The whole of setup. No Docker file, no reverse proxy, no certificate to renew next spring.
After it is live
Every answer becomes a page that gets found
An answered question becomes a fast public page. It carries a clean address, a sitemap entry, and QAPage structured data. Nothing to configure.
Every thread is also served as raw markdown. AI engines and agents read the whole answer without scraping the page.
Customers read and search with no account. Signing in is only for asking, replying, and voting, and there is no password to remember.
- Search across every question, with a log of searches that found nothing
- Votes, one accepted solution pinned under the question
- Related questions, and duplicate hints while a customer types
- Your logo, your accent color, Light, Dim or Dark
There is no importer
You cannot move an old Flarum, NodeBB, Lemmy or Discourse database into this. No importer exists, from anywhere.
Starting fresh is less painful than it sounds. Write your ten most-asked answers, then answer the next real question in public. Most portals have a useful archive within a few weeks, and none of the dead threads.
FAQ
Fair questions
What does managed hosting cost for these?
Answer
It depends on the host and the size of your forum. We will not quote a number we cannot source. NodeBB managed hosting and third-party Flarum hosting both publish plans on their own sites.
Which is the best self hosted forum?
Answer
Flarum if you want light and modern. NodeBB if you like Node and want control. Discourse if you want every feature, Lemmy if you want federation. All four ask you to run a server.
How fast can we be live?
Answer
About five minutes. Sign in, name your portal, and it is online at yourcompany.myforumcat.com. Nothing to install.
What does it cost in month twelve?
Answer
The same as month one. $9 one time for a portal on a Forumcat subdomain, or $99 a month for your own domain. The bill never grows with traffic or questions.
Can we import our old forum or help docs?
Answer
Not today. There is no importer. Most teams start fresh and let the new questions build the archive, which is live in minutes.
What happens to our answers if we leave?
Answer
They are yours. Every question and answer is readable through the REST API, so you can pull it all out any time.
Skip the server, keep the forum
Name your portal and answer one question. If you would rather run your own, the four above are all good, and this page will still be here.
Create your portalFree for 7 days. No credit card. Live in about five minutes.
