bbPress vs Flarum
bbPress
bbpress.org
Flarum
flarum.orgSide by side
| Figure | bbPress | Flarum |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 0 |
| Spec score · Forum Software | 8.3 (#4) | 7.9 (#6) |
| Spec score · Community Platforms | 7.5 (#93) | 7.6 (#86) |
| Customization | The software supports customizable templates and extensions through plugins. | Flarum's extension-based design lets administrators disable unneeded features and add extensions. |
| Founded | 2004 | 2014 |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| License | bbPress is released under GNU GPLv2 or later. | Flarum is released under the MIT License. |
| Moderation tools | Yes | Yes |
| Private spaces | Yes | Yes |
| Purpose | bbPress is forum software made by the WordPress community. | Flarum is a free, open-source discussion platform for websites and online communities. |
| Requirements | The requirements page says bbPress requires WordPress, PHP 5.2.4 or greater, and MySQL 5.0 or greater. | The installation guide lists Apache or Nginx, PHP 8.3 or later, a supported database, and SSH access for maintenance commands as server requirements. |
| Support | The project provides community support forums with installation, troubleshooting, themes, and plugins sections. | Flarum directs users with questions to its community forum, where users can get help with their instances. |
Plans
In their own words
Flarum
Flarum is free, open-source forum software for running discussions on websites and online communities. It provides group permissions, category access controls, moderation and flagging. Administrators can adjust settings, themes, CSS and extensions, and disable unneeded features. Members can write with lightweight Markdown or WYSIWYG editors. Notifications include in-browser alerts and email digests, while extensions can provide real-time notifications. A REST API lets external scripts interact with the forum and follows JSON:API practices. The extension manager discovers and installs add-ons, most of which are open source and free. Self-hosting requires Apache or Nginx, PHP 8.3 or later, a supported database and SSH access for some maintenance. Flarum is MIT-licensed and directs support questions to its community forum. Its documentation describes version 2.0 as a release candidate, not a final stable release. The project serves communities from small hobby groups to large enterprise forums.