What is Flarum used for?

Flarum is open-source forum software written in PHP and Laravel, with a Mithril-based interface and an Extension API for building communities. It is a good fit for hosting a community discussion forum and running a support or product community.

Is Flarum open source?

Yes. Flarum is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at flarum/framework and is written mainly in PHP.

Yes. Flarum is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host Flarum?

Yes. Flarum can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is Flarum an alternative to?

Flarum is an open-source alternative to Circle, Bettermode, Higher Logic and Vanilla. Other open-source alternatives to Circle include Discourse, NodeBB and Talkyard.

Is Flarum actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Flarum was on 1 October 2026, and the latest release is v1.8.20, published on 17 September 2026. The project has 6.8k stars on GitHub.

Flarum: open-source alternative to Circle, Bettermode

About Flarum

Flarum is a discussion platform for websites, offered as open-source forum software. It aims to be simple and lightweight, with no complex dependencies, and the README says it is built with PHP so that it is quick to deploy.

The interface is powered by Mithril, a small JavaScript framework, and is designed to look consistent and responsive across devices. Flarum can be customized, extended and integrated through an Extension API, which is how most added features are provided. The repository contains Flarum's core code, so anyone setting up an actual forum should start from the separate skeleton repository.

Flarum is licensed under the MIT licence. Support is available through the documentation, the Flarum Discuss community forum and a Discord server, and security issues are reported by email under a published policy. It suits communities that want to host their own forum rather than use a social platform.

Key features

Discussion forum software
Responsive, Mithril-powered interface
Extension API for customization
PHP and Laravel codebase
Skeleton repository for new installs

Good fit for

→Hosting a community discussion forum
→Running a support or product community

Built with: PHP; Laravel; JavaScript
Tags: forum; community; discussion; php; laravel; self-hosted; extensions; mithril

Flarum: questions and answers

What is Flarum used for?: Flarum is open-source forum software written in PHP and Laravel, with a Mithril-based interface and an Extension API for building communities. It is a good fit for hosting a community discussion forum and running a support or product community.
Is Flarum open source?: Yes. Flarum is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at flarum/framework and is written mainly in PHP.
Is Flarum free?: Yes. Flarum is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host Flarum?: Yes. Flarum can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is Flarum an alternative to?: Flarum is an open-source alternative to Circle, Bettermode, Higher Logic and Vanilla. Other open-source alternatives to Circle include Discourse, NodeBB and Talkyard.
Is Flarum actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Flarum was on 1 October 2026, and the latest release is v1.8.20, published on 17 September 2026. The project has 6.8k stars on GitHub.