Simple Machines Forum AlternativesForum Software and other similar apps like Simple Machines Forum

Simple Machines Forum is described as '— SMF in short — is a free, professional grade software package that allows you to set up your own online community within minutes' and is a Forum Software in the social & communications category. There are more than 25 alternatives to Simple Machines Forum for a variety of platforms, including Self-Hosted, Web-based, Linux, Windows and Mac apps. The best Simple Machines Forum alternative is Discourse. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try Discourse or Flarum. Other great apps like Simple Machines Forum are XenForo, Vanilla Forum, MyBB and NodeBB.

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Alternatives list

  1. Discourse icon

    Discourse

     156 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.

    69 Discourse alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

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

    • Most users think Discourse is a great Simple Machines Forum alternative.

    • Discourse is the most popular Web-based & Self-Hosted alternative to Simple Machines Forum.

    • Discourse is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Simple Machines Forum.

    • Discourse is Free Personal and Open SourceSimple Machines Forum is Free 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.

    53 Flarum alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Apache HTTP Server
    • PHP
    Flarum screenshot 1
     
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    Comments about Flarum as an Alternative to Simple Machines Forum
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    Flarum is a modernization of the aging forum structure, taht accounts for modern standards and uses (namely, smartphones).

    Simple Machines Forum Icon
    Flarum icon
    • Flarum is Free and Open SourceSimple Machines Forum is also Free and Open Source
    • Flarum is LightweightSimple Machines Forum is not according to our users
  4. phpBB icon

    phpBB

     90 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.

    53 phpBB alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    • PHP
    37 languages
     
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    • Almost everyone thinks phpBB is a great Simple Machines Forum alternative.

    • phpBB is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Simple Machines Forum.

    • phpBB is Free and Open SourceSimple Machines Forum is also Free 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
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  6. XenForo icon

    XenForo

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

    44 XenForo alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

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

    • XenForo is the most popular commercial alternative to Simple Machines Forum.

    • XenForo is Paid and ProprietarySimple Machines Forum is Free and Open Source
  7. Vanilla Forum icon

    Vanilla Forum

     22 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.

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    Vanilla Forum screenshot 1
    Vanilla Forum screenshot 2
     
  8. MyBB icon

    MyBB

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

    47 MyBB alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    MyBB screenshot 1
     
  10. NodeBB icon

    NodeBB

     19 likes
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    A community forum allows you to engage and retain customers, keeping them interested and up-to-date with your latest product or service.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • Sandstorm
    • MongoDB
    • Redis
    • Cloudron
    • Node.JS
    NodeBB screenshot 1
     
  11. 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

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

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

    • vBulletin is the most popular Android & iPhone alternative to Simple Machines Forum.

    • vBulletin is Paid and ProprietarySimple Machines Forum is Free and Open Source
  13. bbPress icon

    bbPress

     21 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.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    bbPress screenshot 1
     
  14. WoltLab Suite icon

    WoltLab Suite

     9 likes
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    WoltLab Suite (formerly Burning Board) is an enterprise grade CMS built for communities and forums.

    122 WoltLab Suite alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • MySQL Community Edition
    • Self-Hosted
    • PHP
    WoltLab Suite screenshot 1
     
  15. FUDforum icon

    FUDforum

     3 likes
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    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.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    FUDforum screenshot 1
     
12 of 46 Simple Machines Forum alternatives