Forumly on Self-Hosted VPS
Host it on your own $5 VPS — your data, your domain, your rules, with no per-seat pricing ever.
Setup on Self-Hosted VPS
Get the code
Clone or download Forumly from the repository (https://github.com/bensblueprints/community-forum-mvp) — the README documents the setup.
Deploy on your own server
Self-host on your own VPS or server — Docker or the one-command setup from the repo README. Point your domain at it when you're ready.
Keep your data yours
Your data stays on hardware you control — no third-party cloud, no per-seat pricing, no telemetry back to us.
Because Forumly is self-hosted, "offline" is your call — run it on a LAN or behind a VPN and it never touches the public internet.
Forumly on Self-Hosted VPS — honest answers
Is it really free on GitHub?
Yes — Forumly is MIT-licensed at github.com/bensblueprints/community-forum-mvp. The $39 buys the packaged installer and 1-click setup; building from source is free.
Does it do courses and payments like Circle?
No — it's deliberately just the forum. If you need courses, payments and video, Circle does more; Forumly does the discussion board and owns its data.