Flarum vs PlushForums
Flarum
flarum.orgPlushForums
plushforums.comSide by side
| Figure | Flarum | PlushForums |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $49/mo |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 0 | 6 |
| Spec score · Forum Software | 7.9 (#6) | 7.9 (#7) |
| Editor | Flarum supports lightweight Markdown editors and WYSIWYG editors. | The editor supports BBCode, drag-and-drop uploads, automated drafts, rich text, media, attachments, and LaTeX notation. |
| Founded | 2014 | 2014 |
| Integrations | Flarum's documentation describes a REST API for consuming forum data. | MailChimp integration synchronizes member data both ways for newsletters and email digests, and paid subscriptions use PayPal. |
| Intended users | Flarum describes itself as suitable for communities ranging from small hobby groups to large enterprise forums. | The maker presents PlushForums for public communities, private business collaboration, customer service, knowledge bases, and organisational knowledge sharing. |
| Product | Flarum is free, open-source forum software for running a discussion community on a website. | PlushForums is a hosted forum software platform for building online communities and sharing knowledge within organisations. |
| Security | The installation guide says Flarum's default public directory keeps sensitive source code files inaccessible from the web root. | The service offers SSL, elevated password-strength requirements, brute-force protection, bot and spam defenses, and role-based content controls. |
| Support | Flarum directs users with questions to its community forum, where users can get help with their instances. | Customers can contact support by email, and the maker says it will respond as soon as possible. |
Plans
PlushForums
- Small$49 a month
- Medium$75 a month
- Large$120 a month
- Extra Large$200 a month
- Double XL$375 a month
- Giant$650 a month
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.
PlushForums
PlushForums has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.