NodeBB AlternativesForum Software and other similar apps like NodeBB

NodeBB is described as 'A community forum allows you to engage and retain customers, keeping them interested and up-to-date with your latest product or service' and is a Forum Software in the social & communications category. There are more than 25 alternatives to NodeBB for a variety of platforms, including Self-Hosted, Web-based, Linux, Windows and Mac apps. The best NodeBB alternative is Discourse. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try Flarum or phpBB. Other great apps like NodeBB are Simple Machines Forum, MyBB, XenForo and bbPress.

NodeBB iconNodeBB
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A community forum allows you to engage and retain customers, keeping them interested and up-to-date with your latest...

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NodeBB alternatives page was last updated May 3, 2025
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  1. Discourse icon

    Discourse

     149 likes
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    Discourse is an open source discussion platform built for the next decade of the Internet. A modern forum, everything's been redesigned to be easy.

    66 Discourse alternatives

    License model

    • Free Personal • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • Ruby
    • JavaScript
    • Cloudron
    • Docker
    Discourse screenshot 1

    Discourse Features

    1. ActivityPub icon  Support for ActivityPub
    2.  Email list
    3.  Trust Level system
    4.  Interactive tutorials
    5.  Infinite scroll
    6.  REST API
    7. Patreon icon  Patreon Integration
    8. Slack icon  Slack integration
    9.  Mobile friendly
    10.  Integrated Spam Protection

    Discourse VS NodeBB

     

    • Discourse is the most popular Web-based & Self-Hosted alternative to NodeBB.

    • Discourse is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to NodeBB.

    • Discourse is Free Personal and Open SourceNodeBB is Freemium and Open Source
  2. Flarum icon

    Flarum

     82 likes
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    Flarum is free, open-source forum software with a focus on simplicity. You can use Flarum to easily set up a discussion forum for your website. Flarum is developed openly on GitHub.

    51 Flarum alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • AU flagAustralia

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Apache HTTP Server
    • PHP
    Flarum screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Support for Themes

    Features

    1.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    2.  Visual design
    3.  Simplicity
    4.  Web Forms

    Flarum VS NodeBB

     
    Comments about Flarum as an Alternative to NodeBB
    Guest
    Positive •Apr 22, 2016
    3

    Has a similar modern look, powered by php.

    NodeBB Icon
    Flarum icon

    • Most users think Flarum is a great NodeBB alternative.

    • Flarum is Free and Open SourceNodeBB is Freemium and Open Source
    • Flarum is LightweightNodeBB is not according to our users
  4. phpBB icon

    phpBB

     88 likes
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    Since its creation in 2000, phpBB™ has become the most widely used Open Source forum solution. Like its predecessors, phpBB™ 3.2 “Rhea” has an easy to use administration panel and a user friendly installation process, which allows you to have a forum set up in minutes.

    54 phpBB alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • GB flagUnited Kingdom

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    • PHP
    37 languages

    phpBB VS NodeBB

     

    • phpBB is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to NodeBB.

    • phpBB is Free and Open SourceNodeBB is Freemium and Open Source
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    PlushForums icon
    PlushForums

    Plush is the most polished, user-friendly forum experience ever, featuring real-time discussions, beautiful design, an integrated blog, member directory, private messaging, paid subscriptions and a world-class mobi...

    https://plushforums.com
    Learn More
  6. Simple Machines Forum icon

    Simple Machines Forum

     35 likes
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    Simple Machines Forum — SMF in short — is a free, professional grade software package that allows you to set up your own online community within minutes.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    Simple Machines Forum screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  User friendly

    Features

    1.  Portal

    Simple Machines Forum VS NodeBB

     
  7. MyBB icon

    MyBB

     34 likes
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    MyBB is the free and open source, intuitive, extensible, and incredibly powerful forum software you've been looking for.

    48 MyBB alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • GB flagUnited Kingdom

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    MyBB screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Integrated Spam Protection

    MyBB VS NodeBB

     
  8. XenForo icon

    XenForo

     20 likes
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    A compelling community experience. Intuitive. Social. Engaging. Fast. XenForo brings a fresh outlook to forum software.

    44 XenForo alternatives

    License model

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • GB flagUnited Kingdom

    Platforms

    • MySQL Community Edition
    • Self-Hosted
    • MariaDB
    • PHP
    Overview

    XenForo VS NodeBB

     

    • XenForo is the most popular commercial alternative to NodeBB.

    • XenForo is Paid and ProprietaryNodeBB is Freemium and Open Source
  10. bbPress icon

    bbPress

     20 likes
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    bbPress is forum software with a twist from the creators of WordPress. Its focused on web standards, ease of use, ease of integration, and speed. bbPress will try to keep things as small and light as possible while still allowing great add-on feature possibilities.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Online
    bbPress screenshot 1

    bbPress VS NodeBB

     
  11. Vanilla Forum icon

    Vanilla Forum

     21 likes
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    Vanilla provides a standards-compliant, multi-lingual, theme-able and pluggablecommunity forum software that powers discussion forums on 800,000 sites.

    License model

    • Free Personal • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    Vanilla Forum screenshot 1
    Vanilla Forum screenshot 2

    Vanilla Forum Features

    1.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions

    Vanilla Forum VS NodeBB

     
  12. FluxBB icon

    FluxBB

     24 likes
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    FluxBB is a fast, light, user-friendly forum application for your website. FluxBB was designed as a lighter, faster alternative to some of the traditional feature heavy forum applications. It is easy to use and has a proven track record of stability and security making it an...

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    Discontinued

    Development of FluxBB has halted in favor of of joint open-source alternative, Flarum: https://web.archive.org/web/20221007200349if_/https://fluxbb.org/forums/viewtopic.php?id=8282

    FluxBB Features

    1.  Website integration

    FluxBB VS NodeBB

     
  13. ZeroTalk icon

    ZeroTalk

     13 likes
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    Forum(s) built with JavaScript ( with CoffeeScript ) and alternativeto.net/software/json for the database distributed by the network .

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • International

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • Python
    • JSON
    • JavaScript
    • ZeroNet
    ZeroTalk screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    The last update is from 2020.

    ZeroTalk Features

    1.  Decentralized
    2.  Distributed

    ZeroTalk VS NodeBB

     
  14. vBulletin icon

    vBulletin

     20 likes
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    vBulletin (abbreviated as vB) is a commercial Internet forum software written in PHP using a MySQL database server.

    45 vBulletin alternatives

    License model

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • PHP
    Home Screen

    vBulletin VS NodeBB

     

    • vBulletin is the most popular Android & iPhone alternative to NodeBB.

    • vBulletin is Paid and ProprietaryNodeBB is Freemium and Open Source
  15. Invision Community icon

    Invision Community

     18 likes
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    Invision Community is a flexible, feature-packed and easy to customize platform that powers some of the biggest and best communities on the web.

    46 Invision Community alternatives

    License model

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    Forum exemple

    Properties

    1.  Support for Themes

    Features

    1.  Flat File CMS
    2.  Portal
    3.  Cloud based

    Invision Community VS NodeBB

     
12 of 44 NodeBB alternatives