NodeBB vs WoltLab Suite
NodeBB
nodebb.org
WoltLab Suite
woltlab.comSide by side
| Figure | NodeBB | WoltLab Suite |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $20/mo | €35.95/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 6 | 8 |
| Spec score · Discussion Forum Software | 8.9 (#2) | 7.6 (#7) |
| Spec score · Forum Software | 8.8 (#3) | 7.6 (#12) |
| Spec score · Online Community Platforms | 8.6 (#11) | 7.6 (#35) |
| Extensions | The product page says more than 500 plugins and themes can be installed from the control panel. | A plugin system lets administrators add functions, with plugin installation, updates, and removal handled through the administration interface. |
| Founded | 2014 | 2001 |
| Product | NodeBB is a community discussion platform for forums and online communities. | WoltLab Suite is community and forum software for brands, businesses, and communities. |
| Security | NodeBB operates a bug bounty program, but eligible testing is limited to try.nodebb.org and third-party plugins are excluded. | The product describes user permissions, one-way password storage, optional multi-factor authentication, and SSL/TLS support. |
| Support | Paid hosting plans list priority support, and NodeBB also points users to its community support forum. | Cloud plans include official ticket support; higher plans add extra support seats, priority processing, or video conference training. |
Plans
NodeBB
- Starter$20 a month
- Hamlet$100 a month
- Village$250 a month
- City$750 a month
- Self-hostedFree
- Enterprise SolutionsPriced on request
WoltLab Suite
- Starter (monthly)€39.95 a month
- Professional (monthly)€79.95 a month
- Self-Hosted License€129.99, paid once
- Business (monthly)€249.95 a month
- Starter (annual)€431.40 a year
- Professional (annual)€863.40 a year
- Business (annual)€2,699.40 a year
- EnterprisePriced 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.
WoltLab Suite
WoltLab Suite has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.