NodeBB vs phpBB
NodeBB
nodebb.orgphpBB
phpbb.comSide by side
| Figure | NodeBB | phpBB |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $20/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 6 | 1 |
| Spec score · Forum Software | 8.8 (#3) | 7.5 (#13) |
| Spec score · Online Community Platforms | 8.6 (#11) | 7.4 (#44) |
| Spec score · Community Building Platforms | 8.7 (#6) | 7.3 (#21) |
| Administration | Administrators can create unlimited administrator and moderator accounts and set permissions for each. | The administration panel lets users customize features without directly editing code. |
| Extensions | The product page says more than 500 plugins and themes can be installed from the control panel. | The official support site directs users to separate sections for help with extensions and styles. |
| Founded | 2014 | 2000 |
| Support | Paid hosting plans list priority support, and NodeBB also points users to its community support forum. | Support resources include documentation, knowledge base articles, community support forums, and limited-support Discord and IRC chats. |
Plans
NodeBB
- Starter$20 a month
- Hamlet$100 a month
- Village$250 a month
- City$750 a month
- Self-hostedFree
- Enterprise SolutionsPriced on request
In their own words
NodeBB
NodeBB is a community discussion platform for forums and online communities, including brand communities and product support boards. Members can write topics and replies using a visual editor or Markdown, chat in real time, and receive notifications for follows, likes and topic subscriptions. They can form groups with activity feeds, tag topics and follow tags for updates. Administrators can create unlimited moderator and administrator accounts and set their permissions. More than 500 plugins and themes can be installed through the control panel, and public Read and RESTful Write APIs support integrations. Spam-prevention integrations include Akismet, StopForumSpam and Project Honeypot. Self-hosted NodeBB is free to download and install under GPLv3; hosted plans start at $20 a month and include priority support. Basic full-text search uses the bundled database engine; Solr and Elasticsearch search require third-party plugins. Installation guides cover Linux, macOS, Windows and cloud deployment options including Docker.