Discourse VPS HostingYour Community Forum on Your Own Server
Discourse is the open-source forum behind many product and developer communities. We install it with the official Docker setup on a hardened KVM VPS, on your domain with HTTPS and your email provider connected, so members can sign up from day one.
Full root & SSH NVMe storage Daily backups Anti-DDoS 99.9% uptime SLA 11 locations
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Reserved vCores and RAM
A responsive forum on resources that are yours.
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NVMe storage
Fast search, uploads and backups.
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Root and SSH access
Plugins, rebuilds and full container control.
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Daily backups
Automatic backup of the previous 24 hours.
Why Self-Host Discourse on a VPS
Hosted Discourse plans are priced by community size and limit plugins. Self-hosting runs the same open-source software for a flat server cost.
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A flat cost as you grow
Members, posts and page views do not move you to a higher price tier.
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Any plugin or theme
Add official and third-party plugins and themes, including ones hosted plans do not offer.
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Your data, your location
Posts, members and uploads stay on a server in the location you choose.
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The official install method
Discourse is supported on its Docker-based setup, which is exactly what we install.
How Discourse Is Set Up
The official install bundles everything Discourse needs into one container, managed with the launcher script.
Request from a browser or app (HTTPS)
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Web
NGINX inside the container
HTTPS with a built-in Let's Encrypt certificate.
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Application
Discourse (Ruby on Rails + Ember)
Topics, categories, search, chat and plugins.
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Jobs
Sidekiq
Email digests, notifications and background tasks.
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Data
PostgreSQL + Redis
Posts and users in PostgreSQL; queues and cache in Redis.
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Container
Docker + launcher
Configured in containers/app.yml and rebuilt with ./launcher rebuild app.
Worth knowing
- Discourse needs a working SMTP provider: sign-up and notification emails will not send without one.
- The official minimum is 2 GB of RAM; every plan has 4 GB or more.
- Plugins are added in containers/app.yml and installed by rebuilding the container.
- Built-in backups can be stored on the server or sent to S3-compatible storage.
What You Can Run
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Product and customer communities
Support forums where customers help each other.
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Developer communities
Questions, announcements and docs for open-source or API users.
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Membership communities
Private categories and groups for paying members.
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Internal discussion
Long-form, searchable discussion for teams.
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Courses and cohorts
Discussion spaces alongside online courses.
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Real-time chat
Discourse chat channels beside the forum.
VPS Plans for Discourse
VPS-1 runs a new or mid-size community. Busy forums with many active members, chat and plugins do better on VPS-2 or above.
VPS-1
Small websites, APIs, bots and development servers.
- 2 vCores
- 4 GB RAM
- 40 GB NVMe
- 500 Mbps
- Full root and SSH access
- Free initial stack installation
- Server hardening and firewall setup
- Daily backup of the previous 24 hours
- Unlimited traffic *
- Anti-DDoS protection
- Dedicated IPv4 and IPv6
- KVM virtualisation
VPS-2
Production apps, WordPress and online stores.
- 4 vCores
- 8 GB RAM
- 75 GB NVMe
- 1 Gbps
- Full root and SSH access
- Free initial stack installation
- Server hardening and firewall setup
- Daily backup of the previous 24 hours
- Unlimited traffic *
- Anti-DDoS protection
- Dedicated IPv4 and IPv6
- KVM virtualisation
VPS-3
Busy stores, SaaS products and several projects.
- 6 vCores
- 12 GB RAM
- 100 GB NVMe
- 2 Gbps
- Full root and SSH access
- Free initial stack installation
- Server hardening and firewall setup
- Daily backup of the previous 24 hours
- Unlimited traffic *
- Anti-DDoS protection
- Dedicated IPv4 and IPv6
- KVM virtualisation
VPS-4
High-traffic apps, large databases and agencies.
- 8 vCores
- 24 GB RAM
- 200 GB NVMe
- 3 Gbps
- Full root and SSH access
- Free initial stack installation
- Server hardening and firewall setup
- Daily backup of the previous 24 hours
- Unlimited traffic *
- Anti-DDoS protection
- Dedicated IPv4 and IPv6
- KVM virtualisation
* Unlimited traffic in Europe and North America. In Mumbai, Singapore and Sydney a monthly allowance applies (VPS-1 500 GB, VPS-2/VPS-3 1 TB, VPS-4 3 TB), then speed is limited to 10 Mbps until the next month.
Which Plan for Your Community
Active members, background jobs and search drive load; uploads and backups decide storage.
| Workload | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New or small community | VPS-1 2 vCores · 4 GB RAM | Above Discourse's 2 GB minimum, with room to grow. |
| Active community | VPS-2 4 vCores · 8 GB RAM | More memory for PostgreSQL, Redis and Sidekiq. |
| Busy forum with chat and plugins | VPS-3 6 vCores · 12 GB RAM | 6 vCores and 100 GB NVMe. |
| Large community | VPS-4 8 vCores · 24 GB RAM | 24 GB RAM and 200 GB NVMe for uploads and backups. |
A starting point, not a limit: every plan upgrades in place, keeping your data, IP address and configuration.
Hosted Discourse or Self-Hosted?
Hosted plans handle updates and email for you. Self-hosting gives you a flat cost and every plugin.
| Feature | Hosted Discourse plan | Discourse VPS |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Tiers by community size | Flat server cost |
| Plugins and themes | Depend on the plan | Any you choose |
| Updates | Applied for you | One click in the admin panel, or a rebuild |
| Email delivery | Included | Your own SMTP provider |
| Server administration | Handled by the provider | Yours, after our free setup |
| See Plans |
Looking After Your Discourse Forum
Run these from /var/discourse as a sudo user.
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Rebuild after changes
Applies plugins or settings from containers/app.yml.
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Read the logs
Errors and job failures.
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Enter the container
For the Rails console and other tools.
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Free up disk space
Removes old images left after rebuilds.
# 1. Rebuild after changes
cd /var/discourse && sudo ./launcher rebuild app
# 2. Read the logs
sudo ./launcher logs app
# 3. Enter the container
sudo ./launcher enter app
# 4. Free up disk space
sudo ./launcher cleanup
Example commands; adjust names, paths and versions to your project. Deploying and maintaining your application is yours to do (or ask us for a quote).
Installed and Secured Before You Log In
The VPS is unmanaged: after handover the server is yours to run. Before that, our engineers do the first setup once, free, so you start from a hardened server with Discourse in place.
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Choose a plan and location
Pick the resources you need and the datacentre closest to your users.
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Tell us your Discourse setup
Versions, database and domain: at order or right after.
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We install and secure it
Server hardened, Discourse installed and tested, HTTPS on your domain.
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You take over with root
SSH access to a working server, ready for your code and data.
Your Discourse setup
- Docker and the official Discourse install
- Discourse on your domain with HTTPS
- Email connected to the SMTP provider you give us
- Your admin account email set for the first login
- Swap and firewall configured for the container
Yours to run after handover
- Ongoing server administration
- Application maintenance and updates
- Debugging your code
- Migrating existing sites or data
Not included in the free setup, but we can quote for it. No control panel by default: CloudPanel, HestiaCP or Virtualmin on request at no cost; cPanel and Plesk need their own licence.
Platform Specs and Locations
The same KVM platform on every plan; only the CPU, RAM, storage and port speed change.
| Virtualisation | KVM with reserved vCores and RAM |
|---|---|
| Storage | NVMe SSD on every plan |
| Network | Dedicated IPv4 and IPv6, 500 Mbps to 3 Gbps per plan |
| Operating systems | Ubuntu 26.04, 24.04 and 22.04 LTS · Debian 13, 12 and 11 · AlmaLinux · Rocky Linux · Fedora · FreeBSD |
| Access | Full root over SSH, key-based login |
| Backups | Automatic daily backup of the previous 24 hours; snapshots and longer retention on request |
| Protection | Always-on anti-DDoS mitigation |
| Availability | 99.9% uptime SLA |
Secured before we hand it over
- Non-root sudo user created for daily work
- SSH key login, password login for root disabled
- Firewall (UFW) open only for the ports you use
- Fail2ban blocking repeated login attempts
- Automatic security updates enabled
- Free Let's Encrypt SSL on your domain
- Timezone, swap and hostname configured
Asia-Pacific
- Mumbai
- Singapore
- Sydney
Europe
- London
- Limburg
- Roubaix
- Gravelines
- Strasbourg
- Milan
- Warsaw
North America
- Beauharnois
Availability per location changes with demand; we confirm your location before setup. In Mumbai, Singapore and Sydney each plan includes a monthly traffic allowance (VPS-1 500 GB, VPS-2 and VPS-3 1 TB, VPS-4 3 TB); beyond it, speed is limited to 10 Mbps until the next month.
Who a Discourse VPS Suits
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Companies with a customer community
Support and product forums on your own domain.
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Open-source and developer projects
A searchable home for questions and announcements.
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Creators and membership sites
Private groups and categories for members.
Security and Performance for Discourse
Security
- Keep Discourse updated from the admin panel; updates include security fixes.
- Require two-factor authentication for staff.
- Install only plugins you trust and actually use.
- Send backups off the server, for example to S3-compatible storage.
Performance
- Give the container enough memory and keep swap enabled.
- Run ./launcher cleanup after rebuilds to reclaim disk space.
- Store uploads in object storage if your media library grows large.
- Use a reputable SMTP provider so notification emails arrive.
Questions Before You Deploy
Not covered here? Ask an engineer before you order.
Host Your Community Forum
Choose a plan and we hand over Discourse on your domain with HTTPS and email connected, ready for your first members.