Self-Hosting
Self-Host Concord Voice
Your hardware. Your rules. Every feature.
The Promise
Every Feature. Unlocked.
Custom emoji, animated stickers, GIF banners, unlocked audio and video quality (no hosted-tier caps — your hardware is the only limit), unlimited file uploads — every capability is yours the moment you deploy. No license key required for personal and non-commercial use.
Your Infrastructure. Your Data.
Your messages, files, and metadata never touch our servers. You choose where your data lives — your rack, your cloud, your closet. We have no access, no telemetry, no backdoor. That's not a policy. It's the architecture.
No Strings. No Surprises.
The Concord Voice Source License (CVSL) permits personal and non-commercial self-hosting with zero restrictions. After four years, each version converts automatically to AGPL-3.0. Your deployment outlives our company by design.
What's Included
Everything. Out of the box.
Core Platform
- Unlimited servers and channels
- Channel categories with drag-and-drop reordering
- End-to-end encrypted messaging (AES-256-GCM + RSA-OAEP 4096-bit)
- Real-time voice via WebRTC / mediasoup SFU
- Video calling and screen sharing
- All seven audio quality tiers
- All video codecs (VP9 SVC, AV1, VP8, H.264)
- Direct messages
- Real-time presence
- Full source code access for audit
- Local accounts
Every feature unlocked, hardware-limited (you run your own media plane)
- Custom emoji uploads
- Animated emoji
- Custom stickers
- GIF server photo and banner
- Custom invite URL (with your own domain)
- No file-upload size caps
- Uncapped audio and video quality (hardware-limited)
- Unlimited server file storage (your hardware is the only limit)
- Custom themes and profile cards
On our hosted platform, these capabilities are gated behind Mach server subscriptions. On your own hardware, every feature is unlocked — we don't believe in charging you to flip a switch on a server you already pay to run.
What You Need
| Component | Minimum | Recommended | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Dual-core 2 GHz | Quad-core 2.5 GHz+ | Voice/video via mediasoup is CPU-bound — more cores = more concurrent calls |
| RAM | 4 GB | 8 GB+ | Go backend + Redis + PostgreSQL + mediasoup workers |
| Storage | 20 GB | 50 GB+ SSD | Base install is small; storage scales with uploads and history |
| Network | 10 Mbps symmetric | 100 Mbps+ symmetric | Voice/video scale with concurrent users — bandwidth is your ceiling |
| OS | Linux (Ubuntu 22.04+, Debian 12+) | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | macOS/Windows for dev; Linux for production |
| Dependencies | Go 1.21+, Node 18+, PostgreSQL 15+, Redis 7+ | Docker (handles it all) | Docker deployment configures every dependency automatically |
How to Deploy
Three paths to a running server
Build from Source
Clone the repository and build everything yourself. Full control over every component, and the path that works today.
git clone https://github.com/Concord-Voice/Concord-Voice.git
cd Concord-Voice && make buildRequires Go 1.21+, Node 18+, and local PostgreSQL / Redis instances.
View on GitHub →DockerComing soon
A prebuilt image for one-command deploys (Go backend, mediasoup workers, PostgreSQL, and Redis, all pre-configured) is on the way.
Planned for a future release. Build from source in the meantime.
Cloud TemplateComing soon
Deploy to a cloud provider with a pre-built template. One-click templates for popular cloud providers are on the way.
Planned for a future release. Not yet available.
Hosting Cost Estimates
What it actually costs to run
Self-hosting is free on the software side. Here's what the hardware typically runs, based on real provider pricing.
| Community size | Concurrent | Server spec | Est. cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small (10–50 members) | 5–15 | 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 40 GB SSD | $4–8/mo | A basic VPS handles this easily. Friends, small teams, gaming groups. |
| Medium (50–200 members) | 15–60 | 4 vCPU / 8 GB / 80 GB SSD | $10–20/mo | Comfortable headroom for multiple active voice channels. |
| Large (200–1,000 members) | 60–200 | 8 vCPU / 16 GB / 160 GB SSD | $25–50/mo | Dedicated-server territory. Consider splitting media and API. |
| Very Large (1,000+ members) | 200+ | Multiple servers / load-balanced | $50–150+/mo | Multi-node deployment. Contact us for architecture guidance. |
Ground Control
Network. Support. Connected.
Self-hosting is free and every feature is unlocked. But if you want your server connected to the broader Concord Voice ecosystem — and official support when you need it — Ground Control is how. Without it, self-hosted servers receive no official support.
Concord Voice Network Sync
Connect your self-hosted server to the broader ecosystem — discoverability, cross-network presence, and the infrastructure to be part of something bigger than a standalone instance.
Public Directory Listing
Make your community discoverable in the Concord Public Directory so users can find and join. Toggle it on or off any time — visibility is always your choice.
Email Support (3 business days)
Official support from the team that built it. Submit a ticket, get a human response within 3 business days. Subscriber bug reports are prioritized.
What's not included
- Installation, deployment, or migration assistance
- Server configuration or performance tuning
- Same-day, next-day, or guaranteed SLA response
- Phone or live-chat support
- Dedicated account manager
Need hands-on support, SLAs, or dedicated onboarding? Get in touch.
Ground Control pricing
| Term | Total | Per year | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Year | $120 | $120/yr | — |
| 2 Years | $204 | $102/yr | Save $36 (15% off) |
| 3 Years | $270 | $90/yr | Save $90 (25% off) |
Per server. Multi-year discounts apply per subscription.
Licensing
How the license works
Free — personal & non-commercial
- Deploy and run with all features
- No license key or activation
- No user limits
- No feature restrictions
- Full source-code access for audit
- Use it forever
If your server exists to connect people and nobody's paying or being charged, you're covered.
Commercial license required (CVSL)
- Business or enterprise internal communications
- Hosting Concord Voice servers as a paid service
- Bundling Concord Voice into a commercial product
- Any deployment supporting revenue-generating activity
Commercial licensing keeps the project funded. The CVSL converts to AGPL-3.0 automatically after 4 years — your investment is permanent.
FAQ
Do I need a license to self-host?
For personal and non-commercial use — no. Deploy it, run it, use every feature. No license key, no activation, no restrictions. If you deploy Concord in a business or commercial context, the CVSL requires a commercial license. See our License page for details.
Are any features locked on self-hosted servers?
No. Self-hosting unlocks every feature with no hosted-tier caps — custom emoji, stickers, uncapped audio and video, file uploads — every feature unlocked, hardware-limited (you run your own media plane). We don't charge for feature flags on your hardware.
What do I lose without Ground Control?
Your server works perfectly fine standalone, and every feature stays unlocked. You just won't have access to the Concord Voice Network, your server won't appear in the Public Directory, and you won't have official email support. Community resources on GitHub are always available.
Do I need Ground Control to self-host?
No. Network sync and Public Directory listing require an active Ground Control subscription because they use our infrastructure — that is the only part of self-hosting that depends on us.
How do I update my server?
Docker deployments can pull the latest image and restart. Source builds can pull from the repository and rebuild. We publish release notes and migration guides for every version on GitHub.
Is Ground Control the same as enterprise support?
No. Ground Control is for self-hosters who manage their own infrastructure and want a safety net for bugs and questions. If you need SLAs, faster response, dedicated onboarding, or hands-on deployment help, see our Enterprise solutions.
Can I run it on a Raspberry Pi?
Technically yes — the Go backend cross-compiles to ARM. But mediasoup (the voice/video SFU) is CPU-intensive, so voice performance is limited. A Pi 5 with 8 GB RAM can handle a small group; we wouldn't recommend more than 10–15 concurrent voice users.
Can I run multiple servers on one machine?
Yes. Each instance needs its own port configuration and database, but nothing prevents multiple deployments on the same hardware. Docker Compose makes this straightforward. Each server that needs Ground Control requires its own subscription.
Your hardware, your rules