Flarum vs Simple Machines Forum
Flarum
flarum.orgSimple Machines Forum
simplemachines.orgSide by side
| Figure | Flarum | Simple Machines Forum |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 1 |
| Spec score · Forum Software | 7.9 (#6) | 7.2 (#14) |
| Customization | Flarum's extension-based design lets administrators disable unneeded features and add extensions. | SMF 2.1 includes hooks and management controls to enable or disable integration hooks. |
| Editor | Flarum supports lightweight Markdown editors and WYSIWYG editors. | SMF 2.1 adds the SCEditor WYSIWYG editor. |
| Product | Flarum is free, open-source forum software for running a discussion community on a website. | SMF is free and open-source community forum software for setting up an online community. |
| Security | The installation guide says Flarum's default public directory keeps sensitive source code files inaccessible from the web root. | SMF 2.1 upgrades password hashing to bcrypt and uses unique form tokens to help prevent CSRF attacks. |
| Support | Flarum directs users with questions to its community forum, where users can get help with their instances. | The support site directs users to FAQs, community forum search, community questions, and the online manual. |
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.
Simple Machines Forum
Simple Machines Forum has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.