Top 35 Best Free Online Forum Platforms & Software (2025)

Posted on July 22nd, 2025 by Quertime Team in Web Tools

Interested in running your own online forum, but having a difficult time to decide which forum platform suits your needs? Well, look no further, let us introduce you top 35 most widely used online forum platforms to build an online community, both free and premium. You can simply pick one of these forum software solutions to set up your own online discussion board right away. Before that, ask yourself what kind of forum you exactly want? If all you need is a lightweight and easy-to-use online forum, then you can consider free and open source platform like phpBB. If you are Internet entrepreneur and thinking of some big forum sites like Digital Forum or 4Chan, you’ll need a feature-rich and powerful solution like vBulletin.

We hope you’ll find this article useful. Any great forum software is missing from the list, please let us know in the comments section below.

Best Free Online Forum Platforms

1. phpBB

phpBB is a powerful, open-source forum option with many features for online communities. phpBB is easy to use, and the powerful customization options allow users to build a site with a vibrant discussion board. Since phpBB has an active community and a large number of users, there is always support available, and plenty of extensions. phpBB remains a flexible forum that allows users to achieve unlimited design and functionality options. phpBB can be a reliable forum option for new and existing forum administrators alike.

2. Flarum

Flarum is a modern and mobile-rssponsive forum software that modernizes discussions online. Flarum is built using PHP and Mithril.js, is lightweight, yet powerful framework. Flarum has an intuitive interface, while also offering real-time notifications for a simple and more engaging experience. Flarum has a one-of-a-kind extension system that greatly allows for customization. Flarum is mobile-friendly aspect ratio has altered online community features for a more seamless and contemporary interaction.

3. Wix Forum

Wix Forum is an easy to use and visually beautiful online forum solution that is integrated into the Wix website builder. It has an easy to follow design process that allows users to create and customize ribust discussion spaces. The platform has a modulation option, sections and moderation tools, personal member profiles, and dynamic design. Wix Forum is a good solution to build communities online for any facilitation of discussion, and integrates functionality with visually appealing design.

4. Simple Machines Forum

Simple Machines Forum (SMF) is a friendly and highly customizable forum software that has been around for quite a while. SMF’s aim is to make it easy to use, easy to administer, and efficient and fast. SMF provides key forum features while also providing the ability for customization and modification. The community and developers are heavily involved in working hard to provide a reliable and secure forum software. With SMF’s template system and lots of modifications, SMF is adaptable to many communities’ unique needs. SMF can meet the needs of new and experienced forum administrators that want an easy to use and easy to modify forum software.

5. MyBB

MyBB is an open-source forum software that is known for its simplicity and flexibility. MyBB has lots of features, and a friendly interface design for the software. MyBB gives the admin a person can build a growing online community. MyBB has a rich theme and plugin system to offer possibility of customizability. MyBB can be customized completely to anywhere the admin wants. MyBB is quite strong in terms of its community for support and development. All-around MyBB is a great option for people who are interested in easy to understand software, but can do advanced things.

6. Vanilla Forums

Vanilla Forums is distinctive because of its outstanding clean and modern appearance. The use of clean design aesthetics certainly pops out and encourages the user to engage with and build a community. Simplicity and scalability are at the core of Vanilla Forums, which provides a significantly rich feature environment to build community with built-in gamified elements, analytics, and moderation tools. Vanilla Forums presents with a mobile responsive design to allow users seamless access with their devices. Deploying Vanilla with a cloud-based service reduces setup concerns while managing plugins enables administrators to add features, tools, and alternatives. Overall, Vanilla Forums is sharp, modern, and a sound user focused forum solution with advanced community management features for providers who care about aesthetics.

7. PunBB

PunBB is known as a fast and lightweight forum solution. The overall performance and functionality of the system is improved by a stripped back design which should be fast, simple and clean. PunBB is a good selection for users who want to create a discussion board and have the ability to load quick. PunBB is supported and active, along with regular system updates as well, allowing users to develop forums that focus on performance, while keeping essential performance features. PunBB is a neat forum solution that have some great features without cluttering the interface and allows you to easily customize it with an extensible framework. Available resources are easy to use and set up as a fast, user-friendly forum solution.

8. BuddyPress

BuddyPress, a WordPress product, offers everything needed to create social networks and community forums in familiar environments. Most importantly, BuddyPress allows users to build online communities without needing any formal background or experience in doing so. BuddyPress has all conceivable features including user profiles, activity streams, group creation, and many more feature-rich options, but more importantly, it also serves as a remarkable catalyst for building an authentic experience of engagement and interaction. BuddyPress is popular among users looking to create a social network on their WordPress-enabled sites, in part, because it is so open-ended and flexible, with a variety of plugin options.

9. wpForo Forum (WordPress Forum Plugin)

Developers from an impressive reputation and an exceptional set of features optimized for WordPress has a plugin, which is named wpForo. It has a clean interface and many ways to customize it to make the plugin dynamic but user-friendly. Some of its features includes threaded layouts, private messaging, user badges, and much more. This allows for interactions you would expect from a great forum. The only downside is that wpForo only supports WordPress as a content management system but for anyone looking for an excellent forum solution for their WordPress-based website, plugin is one of the best you could use.

10. Discussion Board (WordPress Forum Plugin)

Discussion Board is another excellent WordPress-based forum solution. This plugin keeps it simple and accessible. Installation is straightforward, and it is easy to modify. Discussion Board provides the basic forum features like user roles, email notifications, and is mobile responsive. These features make it suitable for multiple discussion styles and communities, whether those communities are small or large, within the WordPress environment.

11. ForumWP (WordPress Forum Plugin)

A forum plugin for WordPress is developed for simplicity and performance. ForumWP is a lightweight option with loads of features, and integrates seamlessly into WordPress websites. ForumWP is user-centric and includes user reputation, badges, and responsive layout for mobile devices. ForumWP is an option that is clean, simple, and will get you up and running with a forum easily within your WordPress site.

12. Drupal Forum

Drupal (a powerful content management system) has a built-in forum solution in the “Create a Forum” module. This module is designed specifically for the Drupal environment and comes with a full-featured set of components to build and maintain online communities. The flexibility offered by Drupal enables users to set up forums in many ways, control user permissions, and integrate forums into their sites. Disregarding the learning curve and familiarity with the entire Drupal ecosystem, it provides an effective forum solution for those who are using the Drupal platform, and as scalability would suggest, a solid, supportive and powerful forum.

13. Joomla Forums Extension

The Joomla Forums Extension offers a solid way to host your online discussions in the Joomla CMS ecosystem. The extension is focused on integration and creating community connections, support, and information sharing. The user easily creates, manages, uses and accesses the forums to have collaborative discussions to make their Joomla experience even better. The versatility of the extension makes it the extension of choice for Joomla site owners looking for an integrated forum solution for online community connections.

14. EasyDiscuss (Joomla Forum Discussion Tool)

EasyDiscuss is distinguished from the other Joomla forum discussion tools because it is a powerful Joomla forum discussion extension created by StackIdeas. There are additional forum extensions for Joomla. Generally, EasyDiscuss is the best Joomla forum extension for creating forums for your Joomla websites. The tools that come in EasyDiscuss, offer great support for user engagement, which supports dynamic discussions and communication. Users can create rich multimedia sharing, notifications, real-time notifications, etc. Whether for support forums or building communities or a shared place to communicate, EasyDiscuss is the best forum experience, built for Joomla users, a rich, easy-to-use applications for discussions.

15. Kunena (Joomla Forum Extension)

Kunena is a well-known forum extension, built especially for Joomla users. Kunena is a popular option among customers for its simple user experience and customizability, and can be a valuable tool for Joomla website owners wanting to have active, entertaining and colourful communities. Private messaging, moderation capabilities and responsive design are all standard features that come with Kunena right out of the box. The Kunena community is active with regular updates to keep their users happy and satisfied. With all the supplied features, it’s easy to see why Kunena is a popular choice for Joomla users looking for a capable, and well-supported forum extension.

16. Discord

Discord has transformed online communication by offering a multifaceted platform that incorporates countless aspects of communication beyond traditional forums. Discord accommodates gamers, communities, businesses, and individuals with a simplified way to combine real-time text, voice, video, and sharing of multimedia messages. Discord promotes server-based communications that can encourage conversations that are divergent or additive through its unique channels. Discord is widely known for gaming but it also serves a diverse user base in other communities or interest groups that are using Discord together collaboratively as a centralized and modern alternative to the plain forum style of discussion.

17. Facebook Groups

Facebook Groups provides a comfortable and easy method of connecting and creating online communities inside of the largest social network in the world. The site makes it easy for members to communicate, share multimedia, and connect people with similar interests. Facebook Groups can cater to a wide audience, making them appropriate for countless interests and purposes – everything from hobbyist communities to professional networking. Facebook Groups are not an outright forum platform, but it can still offer user’s a large user base with greater exposure and a widely accepted space to connect and communicate with their communities.

18. bbPress

bbPress was developed by the same folks that built WordPress! bbPress is a very lightweight and user-friendly forum platform that is built directly into the WordPress ecosystem. If you are familiar with WordPress, bbPress will feel familiar and intuitive. bbPress emphasizes ease of use, ease of setup, and ease of management of your forums. The priority of bbPress is integration; bbPress works seamlessly with previously available plugins (topics, tags, etc). This ease of use and experience applies to both forum participants as well as site administrators. bbPress is great for anybody who wants to integrate a simple and viable forum for their WordPress environment!

19. NodeBB – Community Forum Software

NodeBB is a contemporary forum solution, real-time, and uses Node.js technology. Its responsive design and interactive user interface create a fun, captivating experience for the user! NodeBB has many available features, such as social integration, notifications, and real-time chat all of which encourage community and togetherness. NodeBB is customizable, scalable and extensible, and is an appropriate option for all forums, from smaller communities to larger discussions.

Best Premium Online Forum Platforms

20. Zendesk Forum Software

Zendesk Forum Software is a powerful solution created to enhance, develop, and improve customer engagement and support. The forum software is recognized as the best forum platform available and integrates easily with the entire suite of Zendesk products. It allows businesses to create healthy communities up and running in a short period of time. The software provides an array of features including a knowledge base, community moderation tools, and analytics functions to gauge user engagement. The software customization capabilities allow brands to create a look and feel that fits their branding.

21. Kajabi

Kajabi is a unique all-in-one online service for creators, educators and entrepreneurs. All-in-one is one of Kajabi’s best features. It is a drag and drop interface that allows customers to create, market, and sell digital products. Kajabi provides website building software, an email marketing platform, and course hosting. By combining these three aspects of an online business into one platform, Kajabi simplifies the entire process of running an online business. The complete all-in-one experience is one of Kajabi’s biggest advantages, and it is a great platform for anyone that value efficiency and convenience in their online product/service.

22. Circle – Community Platform

Circle is an ever-evolving community platform that aims to create engagement and community amongst its members. Circle’s interface is user-friendly and customizable so users can create their own branded communities. Users can communicate, share content, and collaborate, making it great for niche community building around interests. Circle focuses on building connections meaningfully in a friendly environment, making it one of the best options for anyone who wants to build online communities where people feel a sense of belonging.

23. Ning – Online Social Media Network Platform

Ning is a flexible platform for developing social media networks for a specific interest or community. Users can utilize Ning’s drag-and-drop interface to create a distinctive social experience with elements like blogs, forums, and media sharing. Ning is appealing because it is flexible and customizable to suit a niche audience with a specific purpose or topic. Ning likely would be a viable site for individuals and organizations interested in creating social media networks with clearly defined content and engagement.

24. Khoros Communities

Khoros Communities is a strong product to consider if you are looking to develop a thriving online community for your business. Khoros has several features, including discussion forums and knowledge bases, as well as tools for social advocacy, which can help create a complete experience for customer engagement and customer loyalty. Additionally, their analytics and moderation features help customers track their community and keep things positive. Overall, Khoros Communities is an enterprise-level product for companies that want to leverage community building as a way to embrace and enhance their brand and customer support.

25. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is a flexible platform for creators to develop a community based on their content and brand. It has a range of offerings from courses to forums and events and takes a comprehensive approach to building a community. Mighty Networks focuses on member connections and monetizing creator content in ways others don’t. Mighty Networks is a strong option for creators who want to turn their audience into community engagement. The ease of use and attention to empowering creators makes Mighty Networks a positive if not the best option for creators looking to monetize their expertise and encourage meaningful interactions with their followers.

26. Discourse.org – Modern Forum Software

Discourse.org is a unique platform – a modern and open-source forum software, designed to encourage discussion within your online community. Discourse.org is identified by its user-friendly interface, updates in real time, and mobile-friendly interface. Discourse.org focuses on building a community with a focused on trust levels, badges, and a robust moderation system. It allows for multimedia engagement, and integrates easily with well-known third-party platforms. It is really a modern approach of managing a forum software.

27. XenForo

XenForo is a full-featured forum software that provides the best of both worlds, a very nice design and yet powerful. It is well known for being friendly and XenForo does this very well with a UI that creates professional discussion forums with interactive features and an eye-catching design. It features a responsive design, meaning it is ready for mobile devices but the UI itself is easy to manage as well. With a strong moderation tool set, user engagement features, and community engagement, XenForo is an all-in-one tool kit for building and utilizing online forums. Like many of the other forum systems, it can be extended (see add-ons section) and you can customize anything and everything for the needs of the forum if needed by the forum administrator.

28. BuddyBoss – Courses & Community Platform

BuddyBoss emerges as a different type of platform that combines community and course together as a complete experience. It has powerful features that serve creators, teachers and businesses. It is easy to use user interface where communities can engage and learn through forums, courses, and member profiles together as a community. With personal dashboards, the use of multimedia, and access to social tools, it creates a meaningful experience. So anyone that wants a complete solution, I recommend BuddyBoss.

29. Invision Community Forums

Invision Community Forums are unique in that they have a modern design and a nice user experience. They offer a wide range of features, including customizable themes and plugins. It provides many tools for a variety of communities. Moderation tools are easy to use and the security is in place for the community to be safe. An engaging community can include media, making it popular for so many online communities. The team gets better over time, as well and is widely supported by a large user community and regular updates.

30. Disciple Community Platform

Disciple is dedicated to building relationships in communities. It offers a clean and customizable platform where users can communicate in forums, messaging, and events. Since the platform has branded, standalone apps, users can have a great, seamless experience as a community member. Disciple also has robust analytics so administrators can learn from data and improve ways to engage their community Members, making it a great option for people that need an intimate space to connect with their community Members and want that intimate space to be branded.

31. Higher Logic Vanilla – Customer Community Platform

Higher Logic Vanilla is a customer community platform that allows you to enhance customer engagement and support. The platform offers features such as discussions, knowledge bases, and ideation capabilities; all contributing to create that community experience for users. The flexibility allows for compatibility with existing systems. The accessibility is easy and the design is responsive which makes it available across devices. In summary, Higher Logic Vanilla is a good option for organizations looking for an experience to build a customer-focused area for knowledge sharing and problem solving.

32. Hivebrite – Online Community Platform

Hivebrite is a full-featured platform for organizations looking to engage and build community in real-time, offering forums, events, directories, and other features intended to encourage interaction and networking among their members. The design of the platform creates options for organizations to create a unique community experience for their external membership aligned and represented through the brand identity. Hivebrite provides a mobile-friendly solution with functionality and customizability, which can be used by businesses, schools, and associations wanting a real-time, dynamic, scalable, online community platform.

33. vBulletin

vBulletin is one of the original online forum platforms and still a go-to when it comes to building vibrant and dynamic communities. The platforms strong set of tools allows for a high level of customization so you can easily meet the different needs of your users. vBulletin also emphasizes performance and scalability, as you expect to receive optimal performance no matter your community size. The platform is mobile friendly so users can participate wherever and whenever they need to. vBulletin also has helpful moderation features that give administrators control over what content goes into their forums.

34. Bettermode

Bettermode is an easy to understand and simplified online community. With a focus on experience and ease of use, Bettermode offers core functionalities for building a community: discussion forums, member profiles and customization of themes. Bettermode also provides a distraction-free experience to maximize the quality of your interactions, making it a simple to use and effectively developed online community. If you are looking for a direct and simple to use platform to build your online communities, Bettermode is an excellent choice. It is also economical and user friendly creating a good option for individuals and small organizations to develop a robust online presence.

35. Woltlab Suite Forum

Woltlab Suite Forum has a contemporary user interface and puts a lot of emphasis on community building. Its focus on website performance and mobile-first design features means that whatever device you are using, the experience will be great. The integration with other Woltlab Suite aspects, such as their content management and online store makes this a great community ecosystem. Woltlab Suite Forum does very well with the customization, but the best part is its growing community with multiple usage based on how large or small your community is its very adaptable.

36. inSided – Online Community Platform

inSided is a dynamic online community platform that enables engagement and collaboration. The platform is intuitive and offers a lot of functionality to help businesses create thriving communities around their products or services. It has tools like discussion forums, knowledge bases, and support structure so it’s truly an all-in-one community building platform.