Forums.net vs HelloBox
Forums.net
forums.net
HelloBox
hellobox.coSide by side
| Figure | Forums.net | HelloBox |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $49.99/mo | $5/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 6 |
| Spec score · Customer Community Software | 7.8 (#16) | 8.9 (#5) |
| Data portability | Forum owners can export a complete copy of their database from the Admin Panel. | The homepage says customers own their data and can export it at any time. |
| Hosting | The cloud-hosted service requires no installation or server maintenance by the customer. | HelloBox says it handles hosting, scaling, backups, and SSL for customers. |
| Integrations | The feature list names single sign-on, Tapatalk, YouTube and Vimeo video embedding, and VigLink support. | Listed integrations include automatic posting to Twitter, Slack and Discord, Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and chatbot tools such as Intercom, HubSpot and Drift. |
| Intended users | The maker describes the product as designed for organizations and businesses, including communities for superfans, friends, and employees. | HelloBox lists creators, course communities, startups, newsletter communities, podcasters, businesses, bloggers, and existing groups as use cases. |
| Product | Forums.net is a hosted online discussion platform for organizations and businesses to run communities. | HelloBox is a fully hosted forum and community platform positioned as an alternative to Discourse, Circle, and Facebook Groups. |
| Security | The product page says traffic is secured over SSL and describes round-the-clock internal monitoring and off-site backups. | The privacy policy says HelloBox uses security technologies and measures designed to protect information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure, while noting internet security cannot be guaranteed. |
| Support | Support is offered through tickets, phone calls, and screen-sharing, and subscription plans include personalized onboarding. | The pricing page says the free plan includes email support, and the help center directs users to email support for unanswered questions. |
Plans
HelloBox
- FreeFree
- Starter$5 a month
- Growth$10 a month
- Pro$20 a month
- Business$50 a month
- Scale$100 a month
In their own words
HelloBox
HelloBox is a hosted forum and community platform for publishing and discussion, positioned as an alternative to Discourse, Circle, and Facebook Groups. It handles hosting, scaling, backups, and SSL; communities can be public or private, with admin approval for new members. Members can sign in with Twitter, Google, GitHub, LinkedIn, or email, and email sign-ups are verified. The editor offers rich-text, inline, and Markdown modes, plus image, code, map, and tweet blocks, drafts, and optional post approval. Its writing assistant can continue or rewrite drafts, summarize threads, or create a draft from a prompt. HelloBox can post automatically to Twitter, Slack, and Discord, connect with analytics, search, and chatbot tools, and send newsletters featuring popular posts. Customers can import subscriber lists, link existing newsletters, run ads and keep 100% of the revenue, use a custom domain, and export data anytime. The free plan allows 50 members and 10K views per month with limited features. Paid plans start at $5 a month; Starter includes 100 members and 50K monthly views.