GPL-2.0

7 self-hostable open-source tools licensed under GPL-2.0 · across 7 categories

Classic strong copyleft, no explicit patent grant, no anti-tivoization clause. Modifications must ship as GPL-2.0 when redistributed; running a modified version internally is fine.

One-line plain-English summary above — not legal advice. Confirm with the project's LICENSE file before commercial use.

Authoritative DNS hosting

PowerDNS alive ★ 4.36k replaces Cloudflare DNS

30min — pdns-auth + Postgres/MySQL/SQLite backend + PowerDNS-Admin web UI · $5-10/mo per VPS; run 2-3 VPSs in geographically separated regions for redundancy.

Community / forum hosting

Discourse (self-host) alive ★ 47.0k replaces Discourse Hosting (Discourse.org) +1

30min — `discourse_docker` standalone install on a fresh Ubuntu · $10-20/mo VPS + Mailgun/Postmark/Resend SMTP relay (~$10/mo for 50k emails). Discourse needs ≥2GB RAM.

Issue tracking / agile boards

Redmine alive ★ 5.94k replaces Jira

30min (docker or bitnami stack) · $5 VPS — small RAM footprint.

Large file transfer / one-off send

ProjectSend alive ★ 1.89k replaces WeTransfer

15min docker-compose (PHP app + MariaDB) · $5 VPS handles a small team; storage scales with attached disk (~$10/TB-mo block storage).

Music streaming

Jellyfin alive ★ 51.6k replaces Spotify +1

10min docker run · $5-10 VPS or home server; designed to run on a NAS.

Online surveys

LimeSurvey alive ★ 3.59k replaces SurveyMonkey +1

20min docker-compose (PHP + MariaDB) · $5-10/mo VPS.

Website builder + hosting

WordPress alive ★ 21.1k replaces Squarespace

20min docker-compose (WordPress + MariaDB) · $5-10/mo VPS for a small site; managed hosts (e.g. Bunny.net managed-WP) ~$5/mo all-in.