TLDR: Short on time and want to jump straight to the answer?
As per our research, the best Forum Software for most people is Discourse.
A forum software product enables its users to create, manage and distribute discussion forums on any topic related to the product. The forum software can be used for creating and managing forums on any topic related to business. Forum owners benefit from having a central location where their forum users can easily find and discuss information about their products or services. The forum software is also beneficial for software developers who need to distribute templates or other content across their company’s website without spending lots of time creating and maintaining custom web pages for every single piece of website content. The benefits of forum software are a combination of the benefits forum software provides and the ability to change the rules as you see fit. Moderators can control the flow of information in a forum by controlling who can post what, when, and how often. They have the power to remove users from a forum if they are causing issues or if the moderator has reason to believe that a user may be breaking the rules.
After researching dozens of Forum Software options available in the market today, we have compiled this list of top 8 Forum Software to help you find the perfect solution based on your specific needs.
The 8 Best Forum Software
Here are our top picks for the best Forum Software,
- Discourse – Overall Best Forum Software
- phpBB – Simple and Easy to Use Forum Application for Beginners
- MyBB – Most Popular Forum System
- Vanilla Forums – Most Versatile Forum Hosting Platform for Flexibility and Customization
- Simple Machines Forum – Best Online Forum Software with Fast and Reliable Support
- NodeBB – Most Affordable Community Forum Software
- Flarum Community – Best Freemium Forum Platform
- XenForo – Top Rated Forum Application
So, let’s read on further to get a complete idea of our top Forum Software picks for this year.
1. Discourse – Overall Best Forum Software
Discourse is modern forum software for your community. Use it as a mailing list, discussion forum, long-form chat room, and more!. Discourse – civilized discussion discourse slack logo WordPress logo zendesk logo patreon logo github google analytics logo.
2. phpBB – Simple and Easy to Use Forum Application for Beginners
Phpbb is free and open source forum software that is easy to use, powerful, and highly customisable. Our community offers extensive support to end users. Phpbb • free and open source forum software.
3. MyBB – Most Popular Forum System
The official homepage for mybb, a free and open source PHP forum software. Mybb – free and open source forum software page-1.
4. Vanilla Forums – Most Versatile Forum Hosting Platform for Flexibility and Customization
Vanilla is forum software that powers discussions on hundreds of thousands of sites. Built for flexibility and integration, vanilla is the best, most powerful community solution in the world. Open source forum software – vanilla forums search search close search close back to top heart beat close search close back to top.
5. Simple Machines Forum – Best Online Forum Software with Fast and Reliable Support
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 – free & open source community software.
6. NodeBB – Most Affordable Community Forum Software
Nodebb is the next generation community forum platform. Built on open source software, we’ve helped hundreds of companies engage their customers. Home – nodebb – your community forum platform.
7. Flarum Community – Best Freemium Forum Platform
Get support using and extending flarum, the next-generation forum software that makes online discussion fun. Flarum community.
8. XenForo – Top Rated Forum Platform
Xenforo is a commercial internet forum software package written in the PHP programming language. Xenforo – compelling community forum platform.
Final Thoughts – Best Forum Software
The right Forum Software for you, depends on your specific needs, of course. Most of our top Forum Software picks include a free trial, so don’t be shy about trying a few different brands until you find a perfect fit.
In review, here are our top 8 picks for the best Forum Software.
| Name | Use Case | Website Link |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Discourse | Overall Best Forum Software | Try Now |
| 2. phpBB | Simple and Easy to Use Forum Application for Beginners | Try Now |
| 3. MyBB | Most Popular Forum System | Try Now |
| 4. Vanilla Forums | Most Versatile Forum Hosting Platform for Flexibility and Customization | Try Now |
| 5. Simple Machines Forum | Best Online Forum Software with Fast and Reliable Support | Try Now |
| 6. NodeBB | Most Affordable Community Forum Software | Try Now |
| 7. Flarum Community | Best Freemium Forum Platform | Try Now |
| 8. XenForo | Top Rated Forum Application | Try Now |
We hope that you found this guide helpful in choosing the best Forum Software for your specific needs. Feel free to share the article with your friends and help spread the knowledge.
