---
title: "Self-hosted social networks, forums and chat"
description: "Self-host Mastodon, Pixelfed, Lemmy, Synapse, NodeBB or listmonk: a social network, forum, chat or newsletter on your own machine in one click."
---

[← All templates](https://pethost.dev/templates/)

# Self-hosted social networks, forums and chat

A community on someone else's platform lives by that platform's rules. On a server of your own you set the rules and run the moderation, and through the fediverse or Matrix your members still reach people on every other server.

Mastodon, Pixelfed and Lemmy are fediverse servers: Mastodon for posts and follows, Pixelfed for photo sharing without algorithms, and Lemmy, an alternative to Reddit, for links and discussions. Synapse is a Matrix server you chat on from Element or any Matrix app. NodeBB is a forum, Apache Answer a Q&A site for a community, a help center or a team, and listmonk sends newsletters to your mailing lists.

[All](https://pethost.dev/templates/) [AI and agents](https://pethost.dev/templates/ai/)[Automation](https://pethost.dev/templates/automation/)[Developer tools](https://pethost.dev/templates/developer-tools/)[Websites and shops](https://pethost.dev/templates/websites/)[Analytics and monitoring](https://pethost.dev/templates/monitoring/)[Files and documents](https://pethost.dev/templates/files/)[Notes and wikis](https://pethost.dev/templates/notes/)[Feeds and bookmarks](https://pethost.dev/templates/reading/)[Media](https://pethost.dev/templates/media/)[Social and community](https://pethost.dev/templates/community/)[Productivity](https://pethost.dev/templates/productivity/)[Personal finance](https://pethost.dev/templates/finance/)[Passwords and sign-in](https://pethost.dev/templates/security/)

- [**listmonk**A newsletter and mailing list manager](https://pethost.dev/templates/listmonk/)
- [**Lemmy**A link aggregator and forum for the fediverse](https://pethost.dev/templates/lemmy/)
- [**NodeBB**A forum for your community](https://pethost.dev/templates/nodebb/)
- [**Apache Answer**Questions and answers for a community, a help center or a team, a Stack Overflow of your own](https://pethost.dev/templates/apache-answer/)
- [**Mastodon**Your own server in the fediverse: posts, follows and replies across Mastodon and beyond](https://pethost.dev/templates/mastodon/)
- [**Mattermost**Open-source team chat with channels, threads, file sharing and integrations](https://pethost.dev/templates/mattermost/)
- [**Pixelfed**Photo sharing without ads or algorithms, an Instagram alternative that federates with Mastodon](https://pethost.dev/templates/pixelfed/)
- [**Synapse**Your own Matrix server: chat with anyone on Matrix, from Element or any other app](https://pethost.dev/templates/synapse/)

Missing an app? The templates are on [GitHub](https://github.com/pethost-dev/templates), and anyone can add one with a pull request.

Pethost · Stephan Gomer · NIP 1133096755

Pethost

- [Templates](https://pethost.dev/templates/)
- [About](https://pethost.dev/about/)
- [Docs](https://pethost.dev/docs/)
- [Blog](https://pethost.dev/blog/)
- [API](https://pethost.dev/docs/api/)
- [CLI](https://pethost.dev/docs/cli/)
- [Plugin](https://github.com/pethost-dev/plugin)
- [Terms](https://pethost.dev/terms/)
- [Privacy](https://pethost.dev/privacy/)
- [Refunds](https://pethost.dev/refunds/)
- [support@pethost.dev](mailto:support@pethost.dev)

Databases

- [Postgres](https://pethost.dev/postgres/)

Comparisons

- [Coolify vs Dokploy vs CapRover vs Dokku](https://pethost.dev/blog/coolify-vs-dokploy-vs-caprover-vs-dokku/)
- [Coolify Cloud vs Dokploy Cloud](https://pethost.dev/blog/coolify-cloud-vs-dokploy-cloud/)
- [Railway vs Render vs Fly.io pricing](https://pethost.dev/blog/railway-vs-render-vs-fly-io-pricing/)
- [Managed Docker Compose hosting](https://pethost.dev/blog/managed-docker-compose-hosting/)

Alternatives

- [Railway alternatives](https://pethost.dev/blog/railway-alternatives/)
- [Heroku alternatives](https://pethost.dev/blog/heroku-alternatives/)
- [Dokploy alternatives](https://pethost.dev/blog/dokploy-alternatives/)
- [Coolify alternatives](https://pethost.dev/blog/coolify-alternatives/)
- [Render alternatives](https://pethost.dev/blog/render-alternatives/)
- [Sliplane alternatives](https://pethost.dev/blog/sliplane-alternatives/)