| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Forum Software | 8.3 (#4) | 7.5 (#13) |
| Customization | The software supports customizable templates and extensions through plugins. | Community-built extensions can add features, and styles can customize a board’s appearance. |
| Founded | 2004 | 2000 |
| License | bbPress is released under GNU GPLv2 or later. | phpBB is released under the GNU General Public License v2. |
| Purpose | bbPress is forum software made by the WordPress community. | phpBB is an open-source bulletin board system for building online forums. |
| Support | The project provides community support forums with installation, troubleshooting, themes, and plugins sections. | Support resources include documentation, knowledge base articles, community support forums, and limited-support Discord and IRC chats. |