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Indie alternatives to vBulletin

3 products made by independent developers and small teams that do what vBulletin does, 3 of them with a free plan. Free and open-source options come first.

At a glance

Product	Price	Open source	Self-host	Platforms
Flarum	Free	Yes	Yes	Web, Self-hosted
Discourse	Free plan	Yes	Yes	Web, Self-hosted, iOS, Android
NodeBB	Free plan	Yes	Yes	Web, Self-hosted

The alternatives

1. Flarum

Free, open-source forum software

Flarum is a lightweight, extensible open-source forum platform that you host yourself.

Free · Web, Self-hosted · Website ↗

2. Discourse

Open-source community forum software

Discourse is open-source discussion forum software available as hosted plans or self-hosted.

Free plan · Web, Self-hosted, iOS, Android · Website ↗

3. NodeBB

Open-source community forum built on Node.js

NodeBB is open-source forum software built on Node.js with real-time discussions, plugins and themes, available self-hosted or as a hosted service.

Free plan · Web, Self-hosted · Website ↗

Questions

Is there a free alternative to vBulletin?

Yes. 3 of the 3 indie alternatives listed here have a free plan or are free: Flarum, Discourse and NodeBB.

Is there an open-source alternative to vBulletin?

Flarum, Discourse and NodeBB are open source.

Can I self-host an alternative to vBulletin?

Yes: Flarum, Discourse and NodeBB can run on your own server.

Which vBulletin alternatives work on Mac, Windows, iPhone or Android?

On iPhone and iPad: Discourse. On Android: Discourse.

What makes these alternatives to vBulletin “indie”?

They are built by independent developers or small teams rather than large companies. Each one is listed because it does the same core job as vBulletin.

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