Best Lobsters Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 platforms from online community platforms ranked against Lobsters on the same published basis.
- 1Lobsters vs HumHub
- 2Lobsters vs NodeBB
- 3Lobsters vs Open Social
- 4Lobsters vs Circle
- 5Lobsters vs Discourse
- 6Lobsters vs phpBB
- 7Lobsters vs Archive of Our Own
- 8Lobsters vs Daisie
- 9Lobsters vs Fora
- 10Lobsters vs Geneva
- 11Lobsters vs Heartbeat
- 13Lobsters vs Mighty Networks
- 14Lobsters vs Bettermode
- 15Lobsters vs Crowdstack
- 16Lobsters vs Forums.net
- 17Lobsters vs Higher Logic Vanilla
- 18Lobsters vs Hivebrite
- 19Lobsters vs Invision Community
- 20Lobsters vs Nodyx
- 21Lobsters vs Reddit
Lobsters alternatives compared
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HumHub | 7.3 | Free plan | — | Android, API, iOS, self-hosted, Web |
| 2 | NodeBB | 7.3 | Free plan | $20/mo | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 3 | Open Social | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Android, API, iOS, self-hosted, Web |
| 4 | Circle | 6.7 | No | $89/mo | Android, API, iOS, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 5 | Discourse | 5.9 | Free plan | $100/mo | self-hosted |
| 6 | phpBB | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | self-hosted, Web |
| 7 | Archive of Our Own | 5.7 | Free plan | Free | Web |
| 8 | Daisie | 5.7 | Free plan | Free | iOS, Web |
| 9 | Fora | 5.7 | Free plan | Free | Web |
| 10 | Geneva | 5.4 | Free plan | Free | Web, iOS, Android |
| 11 | Heartbeat | 5.4 | No | $19/mo | Android, iOS |
| 13 | Mighty Networks | 5.3 | No | $79/mo | Android, iOS, Web |
| 14 | Bettermode | 5.2 | No | $399/mo | Web |
| 15 | Crowdstack | 5.2 | No | $999/mo | Web |
| 16 | Forums.net | 5.2 | No | $49.99/mo | Android, iOS, Web |
| 17 | Higher Logic Vanilla | 5.2 | No | — | — |
| 18 | Hivebrite | 5.2 | No | — | Web, iOS, Android |
| 19 | Invision Community | 5.2 | No | — | Web, iOS, Android |
| 20 | Nodyx | 5.2 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 21 | 5.2 | No | — | Web, iOS, Android |
Make your platform an alternative to Lobsters
See the priceThe sponsored alternative slot on this page is labelled Sponsored.
Questions about Lobsters alternatives
What is the best alternative to Lobsters?
HumHub, number 1 in online community platforms with a score of 7.3 out of 10. The others here: NodeBB, Open Social, Circle and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to Lobsters?
HumHub is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 10 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, open and connectable first: a public API, open-source code, the depth of its documentation and a free tier to try it on. Model lists are sorted by the figure in their title, exactly as each provider publishes it.