Self-hosted alternatives to Google Groups
Want mailing lists and discussion groups without handing your data to Google Groups? These 18 self-hosted apps run on your own server. Cheapest estimated hosting starts at about $3.5/month.
About Google Groups: Google's mailing-list and discussion-group service.
| App | Health | Stars | License | Docker | RAM (est.) | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discourse | Active | 48.1k | GPL-2.0 | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Listmonk | Active | 24.1k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 512 MB | $3.5/mo |
| Flarum | Active | 16.4k | MIT | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| NodeBB | Active | 15.2k | GPL-3.0 | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Misago | Active | 2.8k | GPL-2.0 | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| phpBB | Active | 2.1k | GPL-2.0 | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Movim | Active | 2.1k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| MyBB | Active | 1.2k | LGPL-3.0 | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Simple Machines Forum | Active | 756 | BSD-3-Clause | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Talkyard | Maintained | 1.8k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Sympa | Active | 316 | GPL-2.0 | – | 512 MB | $3.5/mo |
| BuddyPress | Active | 258 | GPL-2.0 | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| HyperKitty | Active | 230 | GPL-3.0 | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Postorius | Active | 94 | GPL-3.0 | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| mlmmj | Active | 27 | MIT | – | 512 MB | $3.5/mo |
| AsmBB | Unknown | – | EUPL-1.2 | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Mailman | Unknown | – | GPL-3.0 | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Schleuder | Unknown | – | GPL-3.0 | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
The options in detail
1. Discourse
Advanced forum / community solution based on Ruby and JS.
Active Last commit 2026-11-05. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release _gh-attach-assets (2026-07-15). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM incl. postgres. How to run it →
2. Listmonk
High performance newsletter and mailing list manager with a modern dashboard.
Active Last commit 2026-11-03. Latest release nightly (2026-11-04). Needs roughly 512 MB RAM. How to run it →
3. Flarum
Delightfully simple forums. Next-generation forum software that makes online discussion fun again.
Active Last commit 2026-10-09. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release v2.0.0 (2026-10-09). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
4. NodeBB
Forum software built for the modern web.
Active Last commit 2026-11-02. Latest release v4.16.7 (2026-10-31). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
5. Misago
Fully featured modern forum application that is fast, scalable and responsive.
Active Last commit 2026-10-23. Latest release 0.39.6 (2026-06-19). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
6. 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.
Active Last commit 2026-11-03. Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
7. Movim
Modern, federated social network based on XMPP, with a fully featured group-chat, subscriptions and microblogging.
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. Latest release v0.35.5 (2026-11-04). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
8. MyBB
Free, extensible forum software package.
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. Latest release mybb_1841 (2026-09-16). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
9. Simple Machines Forum
Free, professional grade software package that allows you to set up your own online community within minutes.
Active Last commit 2026-11-03. Latest release v2.1.8 (2026-10-11). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
10. 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).
Maintained Last commit 2026-07-10. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release tyse-v1.2026.003-f220a7d9f-regular (2026-05-26). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
11. Sympa
Mailing list manager.
Active Last commit 2026-08-14. Latest release 6.2.80 (2026-08-14). Needs roughly 512 MB RAM. How to run it →
12. 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.
Active Last commit 2026-11-03. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release 14.5.4 (2026-10-23). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
13. HyperKitty
Access GNU Mailman v3 archives.
Active Last commit 2026-11-01. Latest release 1.3.12 (2024-09-21). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
14. Postorius
Web user interface to access GNU Mailman.
Active Last commit 2026-11-02. Latest release v1.3.13 (2024-09-21). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
15. mlmmj
Mailing list management made joyful.
Active Last commit 2026-10-30. 10 releases in the past year. Latest release RELEASE_2_2_3 (2026-10-30). Needs roughly 512 MB RAM. How to run it →
16. AsmBB
Fast, SQLite-powered forum engine written in ASM.
Unknown Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
17. Mailman
Manage electronic mail discussion and e-newsletter lists.
Unknown Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
18. Schleuder
GPG-enabled mailing list manager with resending-capabilities.
Unknown Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
Why self-host instead of Google Groups?
- Own your data — it lives on a server you control, with backups you decide on.
- Predictable cost — a small VPS often replaces per-seat pricing for a whole team or family.
- No lock-in — open-source licenses let you keep running the software even if a vendor disappears.
The trade-off: you are responsible for updates, backups and security. Pick an app marked Active (a commit in the last 90 days) and with Docker support for the easiest ride.
Browse related categories
Other alternatives guides
Google Groups is a trademark of its owner; this site is not affiliated with it. Listings come from the community-maintained awesome-selfhosted list.