Best Forum Software (Top Free & Paid Tools)

In this post I will share with you the best forum software that you can use to create your discussion board.

Having a forum is an excellent way of creating a community and a great place for people to discuss issues and share experiences.

Check these top forum tools. See also our hosting plans for forums.

phpBB

phpBB is a very popular forum application.

The main advantages are:

It is totally free.
It is very easy to customize to your needs by using user-created extensions
There are tons of different styles that you can use to customize the look of the board.

MyBB

MyBB is another popular forum tool that is super easy to use.

The main advantages are:

It has a great selection of plugins which will help you add more functionality
Easy tools for moderators and staff
You can customize it to suit your needs

Vanilla Forum

Popular forum tool with tons of features.

The main advantages are:

You can easily migrate from other forum platforms to Vanilla forum
Their team can help you with the migration process
They can even create a custom theme based on the look of your website
Has advanced features including gamification and volunteer moderators.

XenForo

Xenforo is a nice and simple forum solution.

The main advantages are:

Advanced features such as gamification
Motivate users to come back by letting them earn trophies for reaching milestones
You can customize the look of XenForo’s by using the simple color changer.
EO friendly which will help it do better in the search results.

Simple Machines Forum

SMF is free and open source forum that is very easy to use.

The main advantages are:

It is free
SMF is an open-source application created by volunteers
Easily customize the look of it by using the Package Manager
They also offer tech support should you need their help

vBulletin

vBulletin is a popular premium forum application.

The main advantages are;

You can customize the look of it
Streamlined photos & videos
Set it up in less than 15 minutes.
Social media features
vB Messenger chat app
Built-in SEO and security
Mobile friendly
Easy to use admin area

IP.Board

This forum application has some great features.

Configure it to suit your needs
Customize the look to suit your brand
API integration
WYSIWYG editing for rich content creation
Easy to manage admin area
Works seamlessly on desktops, tablets & phones

I hope you have found this post on the best forum tools useful.

What is your experience? Have you used any other forum software?

If so please comment below.