Forumly and Circle solve the same problem from opposite directions: one is source-available software you can own outright for $39, the other is a subscription at $89+/mo run entirely on someone else's servers.
Head to head
| Forumly | Circle | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $39 once | $89+/mo |
| Members | Unlimited | Plan-limited |
| Threads, reactions, profiles | Yes | Yes |
| Badges, notifications, @mentions | Yes | Yes |
| Moderation (pin/lock/ban) | Yes | Yes |
| Courses / payments / video | No | Yes |
| Your data | Your SQLite file | Their cloud |
| Self-hosted | Yes | No |
What Forumly does well
- Categories, threads, replies — One-level nesting for readability, thread pinning and locking, and new-since-your-last-visit indicators.
- Reactions — A six-emoji reaction set with toggling and per-member state.
- Member profiles — Avatar or generated initials, bio, join date, post count and a manual-award badge system.
- Notifications — Reply-to-your-thread and @mention notifications with an unread bell (email digest is a stub — wire your own SMTP).
What Circle still does better
There's a real reason Circle costs what it does: a bigger team, broader integrations and dedicated support behind it. If that ecosystem is genuinely what you need, it's worth paying for.
Which one should you pick
If your workflow depends on Circle's specific integrations or you'd rather not run anything yourself, stay put — that's a legitimate call. If you're comfortable owning the tool and want to stop paying $89+/mo for a job your own hardware can do, Forumly pays for itself and then some: if what you actually need is the discussion board, Forumly pays for itself in 13 days of Circle.
Try Forumly — $39, once
Self-hosted forum with categories, threads, reactions, badges, @mentions, search and real moderator tools.