Open Source phpBB Alternatives

The best open source alternative to phpBB is Discourse. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try Flarum or Simple Machines Forum. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to phpBB and many of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to phpBB are MyBB, NodeBB, Vanilla and ZeroTalk.

phpBB alternatives are mainly Social Networks but may also be Customer Feedback Managers or Blog Publishing Tools. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of phpBB.

phpBB

Free • Open Source
Customer Feedback Manager

Since its creation in 2000, phpBB™ has become the most widely used Open Source forum solution. Like its predecessors,...

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Discourse
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free Personal • Open Source
Online
Self-Hosted
Ruby
JavaScript
Cloudron
Docker
66 Discourse alternatives
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.
- - Discourse is the most popular Web-based & Self-Hosted alternative to phpBB.
- - Discourse is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to phpBB.
Suggest and vote on features
Discourse Features
Email list
Trust Level system
Interactive tutorials
Infinite scroll
Patreon Integration
Slack integration
Mobile friendly
REST API
Live Push Notifications
Integrated Spam Protection
Comments about Discourse as a Alternative to phpBB
Some users think Discourse is a great phpBB alternative, some don't.
Taurolyon
More of a comment system than categorized forum.
Negative comment •
2

MikeSnap
It's more of a online messenger then a forum cms.
Negative comment •
3
Flarum
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Self-Hosted
Apache HTTP Server
PHP
49 Flarum alternatives
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.
Suggest and vote on features
Flarum Features
1. LightweightFlarum consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsFlarum can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
3. Support for ThemesYou can use themes and templates to change the look and feel of Flarum.
Visual design
Web Forms
Simplicity
Comments about Flarum as a Alternative to phpBB
Almost everyone thinks Flarum is a great phpBB alternative.
ab1
Better is some ways after some configuration!
Positive comment •
0

raoufkakashi
it's still in beta , but promising fast discourse like somehow forum
Positive comment •
0

Guest
Better looking, Faster, And simpler.
Positive comment •
1
Simple Machines Forum
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Mac
Windows
Linux
Self-Hosted
46 Simple Machines Forum alternatives
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.
- - Simple Machines Forum is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to phpBB.
Suggest and vote on features
Simple Machines Forum Features
User friendly
Portal
Comments about Simple Machines Forum as a Alternative to phpBB
Almost everyone thinks Simple Machines Forum is a great phpBB alternative.
Chip Thrasher
It is very similar to the way phpBB works. However, it is less supported and harder to install.
Positive comment •
0
MyBB
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Mac
Windows
Linux
Online
Self-Hosted
47 MyBB alternatives
MyBB is the free and open source, intuitive, extensible, and incredibly powerful forum software you've been looking for.
Suggest and vote on features
MyBB Features
1. LightweightMyBB consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
Integrated Spam Protection
Opinions about MyBB as a Alternative to phpBB
Almost everyone thinks MyBB is a great phpBB alternative.
NodeBB
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Freemium • Open Source
Online
Self-Hosted
Sandstorm.io
MongoDB
Redis
Cloudron
Node.JS
45 NodeBB alternatives
A community forum allows you to engage and retain customers, keeping them interested and up-to-date with your latest product or service.
NodeBB has no features, suggest some!
Vanilla
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free Personal • Open Source
Online
Self-Hosted
50 Vanilla alternatives
Vanilla provides a standards-compliant, multi-lingual, theme-able and pluggablecommunity forum software that powers discussion forums on 800,000 sites.
Suggest and vote on features
Vanilla Features
1. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsVanilla can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
ZeroTalk
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Mac
Windows
Linux
Online
Self-Hosted
Python
JSON
JavaScript
ZeroNet
23 ZeroTalk alternatives
Forum(s) built with JavaScript ( with CoffeeScript ) and alternativeto.net/software/json for the database distributed by the network .
Suggest and vote on features
ZeroTalk Features
1. DecentralizedZeroTalk is based on a decentralized infrastructure with no single entity controlling it.
Distributed
bbPress
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Online
45 bbPress alternatives
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.
bbPress has no features, suggest some!
FluxBB
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Mac
Windows
Linux
Online
44 FluxBB alternatives
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...
Suggest and vote on features
FluxBB Features
Website integration
Discontinued
since 2018 no commit
Add a screenshot
Flatboard
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Self-Hosted
12 Flatboard alternatives
A Simple, Lightweight, Modern and fast Flat-File Forum, using Json and Markdown or BBcode.
Suggest and vote on features
Flatboard Features
1. LightweightFlatboard consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
Flat File CMS
FUDforum
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Self-Hosted
24 FUDforum alternatives
FUDforum (Fast Uncompromising Discussion Forum) is a free and open source web discussion forum. FUDforum combines an extensive feature set while maintaining the ability to generate forum web pages extremely fast.
FUDforum has no features, suggest some!
Bullentin Board
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Freemium • Open Source
Online
39 Bullentin Board alternatives
Bulletin Board is new modern forum software that allow you build a professional forum
Bullentin Board has no features, suggest some!