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 Flarum or phpBB. Other great apps like Simple Machines Forum are XenForo, NodeBB, Vanilla Forum and MyBB.

Simple Machines Forum iconSimple Machines Forum
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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...

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Simple Machines Forum alternatives page was last updated Jun 17, 2024
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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.

    65 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 Simple Machines Forum

     

    • 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.

    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 Simple Machines Forum

     
    Comments about Flarum as an Alternative to Simple Machines Forum
    Douze
    Positive Oct 16, 2023
    0

    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

     89 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.

    52 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 Simple Machines Forum

     

    • 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
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    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

     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 Simple Machines Forum

     

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

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

    License model

    • Freemium • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • CA flagCanada

    Platforms

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

    NodeBB Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2. ActivityPub icon  Support for ActivityPub

    NodeBB VS Simple Machines Forum

     
  8. 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.

    50 Vanilla Forum alternatives

    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 Simple Machines Forum

     
  10. 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 Simple Machines Forum

     
  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

    License model

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

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

    vBulletin VS Simple Machines Forum

     

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

    • vBulletin is Paid and ProprietarySimple Machines Forum is Free and Open Source
  12. 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.

    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 Simple Machines Forum

     
  13. 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.

    43 bbPress alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Online
    bbPress screenshot 1

    bbPress VS Simple Machines Forum

     
  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.

    License model

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • MySQL Community Edition
    • Self-Hosted
    • PHP
    WoltLab Suite screenshot 1

    WoltLab Suite VS Simple Machines Forum

     
  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.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Country of Origin

    • International

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    FUDforum screenshot 1

    FUDforum VS Simple Machines Forum

     
12 of 45 Simple Machines Forum alternatives